Strange are the ways of Indian politics. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani, who was the most convinced supporter of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and among the first to "bless" his fast, and dependent on him because his Lok Sabha constituency Gandhinagar falls in Gujarat, now seems all set to queer the pitch for the Gujarat chief minister's national ambitions, says Neerja Chowdhury.
Advani's rath yatra against corruption will now be flagged off by none other than Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who has made no secret of his dislike for Modi. The anti-graft yatra will start from Sitabdiara, birthplace of Jayaprakash Narayan, on the Bihar border, on JP's birthday, October 11.
For the first time in 20 years, Advani will also not be going to Somnath on Sunday, for the anniversary of his first rath yatra. Nor is he expected to attend Modi's huge rally in Gujarat, billed as "mother of all rallies", against injustice, also to be held on Sunday.
Approaching Nitish to flag off the rally would be like a red rag to Modi. At the time of the last Bihar elections, Nitish had gone out of his way to show he had little in common with Modi. He had even gone to the extent of cancelling a dinner for the BJP, to make his point.
During Modi's recent fast in Ahmedabad -- seen as a first step towards a larger national role for him -- Nitish had made his feelings clear. While his Janata Dal-United colleagues minced no words criticising Modi, Nitish, in an evocative gesture, just joined his hands and moved away, as if to say, "please spare me", when asked by reporters for his views.
No comments:
Post a Comment