The year was 1991. The general election was around the corner, against the backdrop of mandir-Mandal politics, and electoral surveys had not yet been embraced by major political parties in a big way. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was then the general secretary (organisation) of the Gujarat BJP, when he initiated a novel move: a survey of the electorate on the candidates to be fielded by the BJP.
The survey found that BJP leader L.K. Advani, riding on the popularity of his Ram Rath Yatra as part of the Ramjanmabhoomi movement, had an approval rating of 85% in the Gandhinagar seat and that his candidature could impact seats around that area as well. Mr. Modi met Balasaheb Deoras, then-Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, showing him the survey results. In turn, the Sangh chief spoke to then-Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the matter, urging him to adopt the new methodology of conducting surveys as well. Mr. Advani, who had been tipped to file his nomination papers from a seat in Madhya Pradesh, was rushed to Gandhinagar and won handsomely in that poll, remaining the MP from that seat for six terms. The BJP won 20 Lok Sabha seats from the State in that election.
