Snippets
Hindustan Times brings a few snippets from the Gujarat elections for you.
No
rathyatras
There has been a change in Narendra Modi's campaigning style in this election. No more
rathyatras
or car rallies for him, let alone a
padyatra
. They are inconvenient when long distances have to be covered in a short span. This time Narenbhai will hold only rallies. He is scheduled to address around 150 of these in the coming fortnight. The personal touch will be missing this time, but BJP men believe Modi's oratory will more than make up for it.
'Modi is authoritarian, control freak'
All those who have fallen out with Chief Minister Narendra Modi have one insight to share about him. Certainly he is authoritarian, a control freak who hates to delegate power. But it goes even further — he does not even like his political colleagues coming up with bright new ideas. Far from appreciating intelligence, he becomes suspicious of it.
Sunil Oza, media organiser for Modi's Gaurav Rath in 2002 and now a dissident, put it succintly: "
Udhar sirf ek hi Krishna hai, baki sab gopiya hai
(In the BJP there's only one Krishna, the rest are you-know-what)," said Oza.
Ravan or not, Uma supportes can't decide
Uma Bharti's flip flops on whether she will support the BJP or not has had her party workers running for cover. When she was lambasting the BJP a few days earlier, her lieutenants followed her example. One of them, talking to
HT
, referred to Narendra Modi as 'Ravan'. But when Bharti changed her tune, the lieutenant hurriedly called
HT
back. "By Ravan I was referring to certain traits Modi possesses. I'm not saying Modi the human being, is like Ravan," he was at pains to clarify.
Border bars make hay as workers sweat
Gujarat being a dry state, the bars on its Rajasthan border rake in plenty of business. One such bar, close to the well known Ambaji shrine, is specially popular among thirsty Gujaratis. "I expect business to get even better now that political workers have hit the road," said its restaurant manager. "These people drink like fishes and also buy bottles to carry home."
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