Why Narendra Modi is the best Event Manager

Being surrounded by a sparkling persona is a rare occasion but a rarest of rare when the spellbound auras of such persona ink-down the history. Narendra Modi possesses the same stature and has enveloped multiple skills under the hood influencing mass.

Times of India- “Modi is very good at his Event Management skills”

During his last General Elections in Gandhinagar, even L.K Advani (former M.P) called Narendra Modi as the best event manager he had known. Then it was not known that this ability of his, will bag him the India’s highest citizen title (P.M. of India). It was not overnight that he had honed these event management skills but it was his lifestyle in his early political career organizing party summit and events all over India.

He emerged as the dark horse in Indian politics and gradually scaled up his position. It didn’t take much time for him to understand the nuance of the Indian administration and neither for the public to figure out his strategic moves, who acknowledged him with grace. He is an institute in himself, who is a complete package of the eloquent speaker, flawless presenter, and a great visionary.

There are endless qualities of him that truly makes him a public figure but here we are not intending to showcase his political achievements but the witty ideas that he implemented during events. Here we will scrutinize how he was decisive in executing many state-level events into global events and how he pulled out shows and events in grandeur style and impromptu.

Aiming at perfection is observed in all its election campaign and same reflected during his events. Nothing is marked as half attended- whether its event safety barricades, installing designer fixtures, stage arrangement, placing hoardings and banners, or social media marketing.

His events forced some of the best event managers to take a backseat and rethink on their event management skills.  He is so good at this that the critics like to quote him as Event Manager cum P.M.

Whatever their opinions but his event management skills are definitely do-able for event planners. Let’s try to find out why he qualifies in the bracket of the “Best Event Manager” and peep into some of the events that made him popular. 

Does any Event Industry match his (Modi’s) standard?

During his tenure as C.M of Gujarat and thereafter, he lined up many events like --sporting events, cultural festival events, business-networking events, and events in all spectrum.

Vibrant Gujarat- Connecting India to world

Vibrant  Gujarat is a biennale summit held every year to create business opportunity in the state with the global conglomerate. Since its launch in 2003, the event hit the news headlines and matured over the years in all respect and so does the MoU’s and foreign delegate’s inclusion. 

It was the first time ever the government staged such a global audience at this scale. It has reflected a visionary approach of Modi and his counterparts. On the front-stage, he addresses the audience, while at backstage, he takes care the event takes shape with precision and in accordance to event portfolio.

1) In 2017, Vibrant Gujarat trade show exhibited about 1500 stall, to showcase business throughout the week.  Each day of the week is planned and allocated to exhibitors systematically.

2) Wi-fi internet access with over 150 hotspots and additional shareable telecom tower has been created from airport to vibrant Gujarat venue to give uninterrupted net service.

3) To add more, admin lounge, fire safety,  security and surveillance, conference rooms, food courts, drainage disposable system, battery operated vehicles for transportation were arranged.

4) Digitalizing the event- An android app supported with Google assistant to drive visitors to stall and events relevant to their field was built

5) Road Shows on national as well as international level was exhibited

6) Live webcast of the vibrant summit was broadcasted

7) Monitoring the progress of event through Audio-video presentation for various project was taken for the first time

8) Active social media campaign pre and post the event

The event is transformed from an investment summit to a knowledge-sharing and networking meet.

Khel Mahakumbh -State biggest sporting event

Khel Mahakumbh was another initiative under Modi's supervision to support healthy Gujarat and to celebrate sports and sportsmanship.In the year 2016-17, 30.64 lakhs players participated, and more than 75,000 volunteers were summoned to manage competition at various levels over the period of 45 days.

Again the event set a benchmark for event planners to learn and instigate management skills into their events.

Key learning for event planners from Khel-Mahakumbh

1) Finalizing venue for event both at state and district level and coordinating event for different categories in different cities

2) Co-ordinating with contractors before events (catering agency, overlay agency, etc.)

3) Generating KMD-ID for each participate generated to get information

4) Food & refreshment, accommodation, medical aids, etc.

5) A dedicated app was established which incorporates details about 31 games and 4 special games

Vibrant Navratri– Celebrating the rich culture

Rock solid stage, huge heritage entrance, colorful laser show, high-security arrangement, well-parsed ground, separate parking zone.  If you see all these on a granular level the management has done an applauding groundwork and didn’t leave any room for error.  Visitors around 800,000 during 9 days of the event is a big number, managing them, as well as running the event programs in parallel demands tremendous planning.

1) The stunning decors inside and outside the periphery including the world’s largest floor lamp that made it to Guinness world record

2) Attracting audience with fun-fair activities and stalls selling traditional Indian artifacts, jewelry, apparel and food

3) The number of LED screens mounted around the main stage for better visuals of the event

4) Food plated in a street food style

5) Backup plan and medical aid for event disaster or emergency

6) Delegate parking and routing vehicles to avoid congestion

7) Diffusion of man-force to each section interconnected with each other to avoid mismanagement

Kite festival- Unique festive occasion

Kite flying is a culture for Ahmedabad organized by the Tourism Department of Gujarat, but Modi was the architect behind it to make this festival a successful global event.  More than 100 kite fliers from 31 countries had attended the festival, which equally amazed with the setup of the event. Some action points of the event that pleased event planners over the long pavement of the riverbed were:

1) Green carpet flown over the vast area, event stalls installation, support desk services for tourist, and many more.

2) The arrangement of high security and surveillance throughout the event enveloping countless visitors.

3) Special arrangement for boarding and lodging of guests

4) Adventure games for kids, food stalls with local delicacies, kite making workshop, adventure activities, 360° VR Display, craft bazaar, the theme pavilion at Gujarat Tourism Spots, etc. displayed all at one place.

It doesn’t finish here, the day-long event ends with marvelous light-show and cultural events.

Modi’s success-mantra for Event Planner

Event planner would like to engrave these rules on the chit-sheet of event planning, to host a successful event.

1) In-depth research, identify and target the audience

He chooses audience as per occasion and events, knowing there are 150 million first time voters during 2013 election.  He didn’t miss this opportunity, and addressed youth at Shri Ram College of Commerce straight from the Capital- Delhi, talking about Gujarat’s development model.

2) Deployment of latest Technology for Event Marketing

He is a tech-savvy leader and uses technology posthumously in the marketing campaign. He frequently posts on Twitter, Facebook, and other online media to market his campaign, but that remains just like any corner news until he incepted 3D hologram technology to address world’s largest electorate.

3) Spark life into Event

Modi kicks event just like any festive celebration, lit up in colorful lights and enthusiasm.  On this “Economic Times” wrote a full article on why Modi’s event is not just any ordinary event but full-fledged stage productions. It involves background sound, light shows, theme-based music, stage design, sky cameras, and LED screens.

4) Find opportunity in Chaos

Events always loom with uncertainty, no matter whether it’s a small in-house event or it’s a Modi’s colossal event.  One such incident was observed during Modi’s rally in Hubli-Dharwad where his close associates finalize the 63 acres of Jowar fields when known event venue was booked.

5)  Health and Safety regulation for Events

Mass attendance is a regular visual in events. His close associates ensure that event safety measures are maintained before and after events like event crew work with safety measures, woods used for the stage are anti-fire paint approved by the authority like CEPT (Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology), clamps and supporters are used instead of wires or inflammable materials.

6) Special selfie zones in Road Shows

Roadshow remain his first preference right from the beginning, maybe, he can connect better with people through it. He also likes to try new experiments during Road Show; during his Rajkot road show, he introduced special selfie zones in the backdrop of surgical strike hoarding and party cut-outs. 

7) Ready to implement New Ideas and Innovation

His image of a game changer is accounted due to his courageous moves and readiness to implement new and innovative ideas. He doesn’t hesitate to try new things in the existing system and bring diversity. “Mann Ki Baat” is an exceptional epitome of this allowing him to reach the remote areas and villages of the country

Over to you!

Let us know your views if you have visited any such events that left you stunned and think worth notifying here.  This could inspire the“Jugaadu” event planners to reinvent some new ideas to make your next event memorable and mesmerizing.