File photo of PM Narendra Modi (Press Trust of India Photo)
From the Delhi headquarters to block level party units all over the country, the BJP had lined up big celebrations for September 17, the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 64.
But the PM has turned off the switch on the celebration via tweets which read like the three commandments for September 17.
"I am hearing from different places that friends & well-wishers are planning various programmes & events for my birthday (sic)," the PM tweeted.
"My humble request- do not celebrate my birthday. Instead, dedicate yourselves towards relief work in J&K through your time & resources (sic)" he added.
"The need of the hour is to stand shoulder to shoulder with our sisters and brothers of Jammu and Kashmir," PM Modi said in another tweet.
The tweets will have a sobering effect on party cadres who wanted to turn September 17 into a "thank Modi for the Lok Sabha win day."
Now, efforts are on to calibrate the PM's caution into their preparations. The most visible impact of this is going to be on Gujarat, where the state BJP unit was operating in top gear as PM Modi is scheduled to visit on September 16 and 17 - his first visit to his home state after he was sworn in as the PM in May.
PM Modi, sources said, had planned to celebrate his birthday along with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is heading for Gujarat straight before setting his foot on the soil of the national capital.
The Gujarat government had fixed the Chinese President's itinerary in Gujarat around the PM's birthday. During his visit to Gujarat, Mr Jinping is supposed to sign a pact with the Gujarat government to develop 10 square kilometre industrial park in Sanand, 70 kilometres from Ahmedabad.
On his birthday, PM Modi is scheduled to visit his brother Pankaj's house in Gandhinagar to seek his mother Hira Ba's blessings - a regular feature every year.
The PM will reach Gujarat a day before his birthday - on September 16 - when the bypoll results of the nine Assembly seats and the Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency will be declared.
To make the day special, Chief Minister Anandiben Patel had urged people of Gujarat and BJP workers to gift PM Modi by electing the party candidates in all constituencies.
Anticipating victory in all the assembly and Lok Sabha segments, the state BJP has planned a grand celebration after the results are announced.
Meanwhile, the BJP unit in Uttar Pradesh had planned a typical "UP style" celebration. To mark PM Modi's 63rd birthday, the state unit had last year ordered 63 kilos of laddoos and 63 special loud crackers at the state party headquarters in Lucknow.
Similar celebrations were planned all over the state at the district headquarters. Some enthusiastic party workers had planned special events including screening of films on PM Modi, discussions on his government's 100 days achievements and even musical events. But now the organisers will have to tone down their celebrations - calibrate their efforts with the PM's advice to observe austerity in the wake of the tragedy unfolding in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources in several states say BJP units now plan to organise fund and relief material raising functions to match their efforts with PM Modi's concern for the people of the state.