Mission272+ volunteers can take pride that Narendra Modi has also worked as a volunteer during the 1967 parliamentary polls. Mr. Modi used to campaign for his guru Vasant Parikh who was an eye surgeon in Vadnagar where Mr. Modi was born and brought up.

It was during this elections that Dr. Parikh had first coined the slogan ‘one vote, one note’. The same slogan that Mr. Modi is using to reach out to voters and collect funds for his campaign.

‘One Vote, One Note’…a slogan coined during 1967 elections. Will always remember volunteering during that election http://t.co/wQ8ygVYvn1

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 21, 2014

Mr. Modi was 17 year old when he campaigned for his guru. He also used to assist his brother who ran a tea canteen.

Dr. Parikh had devoted his life for poor and hence had no money to contest elections. So he used to ask people to give him one vote as well as one rupee. Dr. Parikh was elected an MLA with one of the lowest minimum expenditures in polls. The amount he spent for the campaign was just Rs. 6000. As an MLA he used to give regular report of his work and expenses to the public.

Kishore Makwana, who has penned books on Modi says, “Since his childhood, Modi has always seen Dr Parikh as his guru. When Surat was ravaged by floods in 1960s, Modi collected funds for relief work and even accompanied Dr Parikh to Surat.”

Mr. Modi’s desire to have a transparent government sure has roots in the teachings of such guru. Mr. Modi was also present at Dr. Parikh’s funeral in 2007.