Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Vinay Katiyar, M Venkaiah Naidu, Jana Krishnamurthy, the list goes on and on. Almost every leader at the BJP’s national executive here is wearing one: a Vande Mataram sticker — written in Gujarati.

The man they have to thank: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He distributed hundreds of these stickers, printed in Gujarat, just before the executive started off yesterday.

Naqvi was effusive: “Narendra Modi is a real hero. The idea of bringing stickers was great and we are moved when he asked us to wear it”. Said Katiyar: “Modiji himself came to me and fixed it on my kurta.” Modi declined to comment but Om Mathur, BJP general secretary and in charge of Gujarat, said: “Gujarat is very good at producing publicity material and that’s why the stickers were made there. Many were distributed across Gujarat as well and it was Modiji’s idea to bring them here.”

When asked whether he could read the sticker he was wearing, Krishnamurthy said: “How many people can understand the national anthem jana gana mana but they sing. Spirit matters, not the language.” Mathew Pylee, member of national executive from Kerala said: “I believe in content. Even if I cannot read Gujarati, it arises feelings of patriotism in me”. The only ones grumbling were local leaders who said they had stickers in Hindi which are lying unused.