NaMo puts up a Sadhbhavana show

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Saturday marked his 61st birthday by starting a three-day fast that showcased his political appetite to make a scramble for the centrestage of national politics and pre-eminence in the BJP’s top leadership. With thousands of his supporters seated in the sprawling university hall in Ahmedabad under arc lights, it was a massive mobilization that reduced senior BJP leaders and allies to being political props as Modi hogged the limelight. On the sidelines of this ‘Sadbhavna’ mission for harmony, it was senior leader L K Advani who was being edged out of the prime ministerial race as pressure mounted on the stalwart to give way to his political protégé in what even the US Congressional documents refer to as a Rahul vs. Modi scenario in 2014. Asked at the fast site about BJP’s PM candidate, Advani asked reporters to check his blog, written before he left for Ahmedabad, in which he had mentioned Modi’s name. Although the BJP veteran rounded off his remark by saying that BJP has other capable leaders as well, the attention on Saturday was exclusively on Modi, who dwarfed his peers. Almost everyone who matters in the BJP was here, with the exception of Sushma Swaraj who still has two days to show which side is she on. Party sources said she is in Singapore and would arrive in Ahmedabad on Monday. BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, who is recuperating from a surgery, sent his best wishes. But what was striking was a conspicuous effort by Modi to trade his strongman image for a new persona that believes in reconciliation. Anxious to live down the perception of a rioter that has blotted his political image, Modi said: “I had said at that time these riots should not have happened in a civilized society. At that time I had felt the pain and now also I am feeling the pain.” Notable among absentees were Janata Dal (United) whose CM had prevented Modi from campaigning in last year’s Bihar assembly elections: something which underlined the limits of Modi’s appeal outside the circle of converts. However, that should not discourage Modi from expanding his footprint outside Gujarat after the state elections next year. In fact, Modi is keen that BJP snaps its links with JD (U) because of Nitish Kumar’s unremitting hostility. Narendra Modi has planned to use the Sadbhavna platform to communicate to both RSS and BJP leaders that the need today is to redefine NDA and shed allies who were trying to dictate who should be PM.Sushma Swaraj and Raj Thackeray put up an appearance on the last day along with Venkaiah Naidu.