Getting Badal to Varanasi was no mean feat for Modi
There was a lot of talk, especially in BJP circles, about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s humility and ‘sanskar’ when he touched the feet of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal after filing his nomination papers for the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency last month.
What no one talked about was how many extra miles the BJP had to travel to bring the former Punjab chief minister on board for Modi’s nomination filing.
Parkash Singh Badal was reluctant to come to Varanasi and wanted to send his son Sukhbir to join other NDA leaders for a show of unity and strength. Modi was, however, keen that Badal Sr be there.
The SAD patron then told his emissaries that he was not well and couldn’t take any small chartered flight because he wouldn’t be able to bend. He wanted a jet so he didn’t have to bend. So keen was the prime minister on the veteran leader’s presence that he got a jet organised for his travel.
The grapevine has it that Badal Sr was reluctant to come to Varanasi as he had been upset with Modi for a long time.
When he was the chief minister, Badal, accompanied by a senior Punjab official, had gone to meet the prime minister in Delhi. After greeting Badal, Modi turned to the official and gave him a dressing down for half-an-hour for ruining Punjab’s economy.
The message was not lost on Badal Sr: The PM’s lecture was directed at him. He remembered that meeting when the missive came from Modi to come to Varanasi.
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Why Congress has left Urmila Matondkar clueless
Actor-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar must be wondering about the ways her party, the Congress, operates.
The Congress candidate from Mumbai North wanted to campaign for the party outside Mumbai once voting was over in her Lok Sabha constituency on 29 April.
She kept offering her services for campaigning to party leaders, and was willing to campaign anywhere in the country. For inexplicable reasons, though, those sitting in Delhi and managing the Congress campaign were not excited about her offer. She kept waiting for a word from the party but in vain.
(Contributor: DK Singh)
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