At his official residence in Jaipur on Sunday, September 27, 2026, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma gathered newly elected municipal councillors and party workers to listen together to the 138th episode of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio address, Mann Ki Baat — turning a national broadcast into a state-level political moment.

What PM Modi covered in episode 138

In his address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked the memory of the 2016 surgical strikes across the Line of Control — India's cross-border military response to the Uri attack — expressing gratitude to the nation's armed forces for their courage and sacrifice. The strikes remain one of the most cited symbols of national security resolve in BJP political messaging.

Modi also spoke about the upcoming national Census, describing it as a foundational exercise for charting India's development direction, and renewed the call for a drug-free India through the central government's Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, the anti-drug campaign launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in August 2020. He rounded out the episode with reflections on public participation in nation-building.

CM Sharma's residence as a listening post

Sharma described the Prime Minister's address as 'ojaswi sambodhan' — an energising speech — saying it gives everyone 'a new energy and direction to contribute their best to nation-building.' The gathering at the Chief Minister's residence was notable for its audience: nagar nigam (municipal corporation) newly elected ward councillors, fresh from local body elections, alongside party workers.

This format — a senior state leader hosting a collective Mann Ki Baat session — is a well-established playbook within the BJP. State units regularly organise such listening events to signal alignment with central messaging on security, health, and social welfare, while simultaneously giving local-level workers a direct touch-point with the Prime Minister's voice.

Mann Ki Baat's reach and the BJP's grassroots machinery

Mann Ki Baat was launched by Prime Minister Modi in October 2014 and has since become a cornerstone of his direct-communication strategy with citizens. Broadcast on All India Radio on the last Sunday of each month, the programme covers everything from individual citizen stories to major policy themes. By episode 138, it represents over a decade of uninterrupted monthly broadcasts.

Bringing newly elected municipal councillors into the fold through this kind of event serves a dual purpose: it orients them toward the Centre's flagship narrative priorities — surgical strikes, Census, Nasha Mukt Bharat — and embeds them in the larger BJP organisational culture before they settle into their ward-level roles.

With the next national Census on the horizon and the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan looking to deepen its reach into municipal and urban areas, the themes PM Modi chose for episode 138 land with particular relevance in a state like Rajasthan, where both urban governance and border-district security awareness carry political weight.

For Rajasthan's freshly elected councillors, Sunday's session was less a listening party and more an orientation — a signal that local governance, national security, and social reform are meant to run on the same track.