Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: In yet another indication of Narendra Modi’s growing popularity, the students of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) preferred the Gujarat Chief Minister over iconic industrialist Ratan Tata and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi as the key speaker for the college’s fifth Business Conclave.
Reports, Wednesday, claimed that Modi was chosen by the SRCC students through an internal poll in which the Gujarat BJP leader beat Ratan Tata and Rahul Gandhi.
Modi is expected to deliver a key note address to the SRCC students later in the day and the fact that he is seen as a role model by the youngsters speaks volumes about his immense popularity amoung the country’s youths.
A majority of students in SRCC - one of the most sought-after colleges in Delhi -voted for Modi to be the key speaker at the conclave this year with Ratan Tata coming a close second.
If sources are to be believed, at least five Cabinet ministers and even AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi were also nominated in the poll. However, the firebrand Gujarat BJP leader defeated them all to be a clear favourite of the students.
"We had an internal poll to make a list of all the political and business leaders we would like to hear at the conclave this year. Students from both courses –B Com (honours) and BA (honours) Economics -in the college participated and Modi got the highest number of votes," one of the organisers of the conclave was quoted as saying.
However, he refused to share the number of votes garnered by the Gujarat Chief Minister.
"It was an internal matter. Ratan Tata got the second highest votes though he expressed his regret for not being able to make it to the college as he was supposed to be travelling," he said.
Modi is going to speak at the 'Shri Ram Memorial Oration' at the Business Conclave 2013 and sources say that he had decided to speak only on issues of business and social development.
Modi's speech will be shown live on his website -www.narendramodi.com. The SRCC principal has refused to confirm if a poll was carried out to select Modi as a popular choice for the conclave.
He just said that the BJP poster-boy emerged as quite a favourite of the students.
Modi's programme in SRCC is believed to have been facilitated by BJP leader and SRCC alumnus Arun Jaitley. The three-day conclave will conclude on Wednesday.
Several BJP top brass leaders in the city are a product of the well-known SRCC, University of Delhi including Vijender Gupta, Vijay Goel, Jagdish Mukhi and Vijay Jolly.
First Published: Wednesday, February 06, 2013, 11:34