Graphic novel listing '101 reasons' to vote for PM Modi released

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New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) Usually, we connect graphic novels to entertainment, fun, and children. But in the 2024 election season, author Shantanu Gupta has come out with a graphic novel titled '101 Reasons, Why I Will Vote for Modi' for the voters as the nation heads to Lok Sabha polls in seven phases starting April 19.

When contacted, the author said the book is a rare experiment for narrating 10 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's works.

The graphic novel is written from a voter's point of view, detailing why he/she should vote Narendra Modi back to power in 2024, Gupta said.

Gupta has collected most of his stories after directly talking to the beneficiaries of the different schemes of the Narendra Modi government. Each of the 101 reasons is presented with a comparison of data from the pre-2014 scenario, the human stories involved, and couplets to capture the impact of a particular scheme introduced by the Modi government.

The book contains 10 internationally known art forms, namely semi-realistic style, cartoon style, stylised style, Manga style, watercolour style, realistic art style, black and white style, traditional Indian comic book style, Disney style, and sepia/muted style, Gupta informed.

The book is a conversation between a Modi critic and the author himself, where the former is looking for a single strong reason to vote for PM Modi in 2024.

In the process, the author takes the critic to the people in the villages, towns, lanes, and bylanes of Bharat, and during the discussions, they end up listing not one, but 101 strong reasons to vote for Narendra Modi in 2024.

The author believes that the voting pattern of any voter is the result of two variables – (a) Improvement in ‘ease of living’ during the incumbent government's rule, and (b) The identity of the voter, which is on the lines of caste, religion, gender, age, region, and language.

Each of the 101 cases ends with a four-line couplet to communicate the human angle of the citizen’s voting pattern.

The book also has strong testimonials from the likes of Bibek Debroy and Mohandas Pai.

Bibek Debroy, the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Committee (EAC) to PM Narendra Modi, said, "Rarely has the graphic novel style been used to communicate a political message with such effect. In the words of voters, Shantanu Gupta tells a vivid story.”

Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Aarin Capital and the ex-CFO of Infosys, called Gupta's graphic novel a great innovation in helping the voters decide their choice.

--IANS

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