D.P. Bhattacharya
For a man born in the hinterland of Gujarat in a family that sold tea to sustain itself, Narendra Damodardas Modi has come a very long way. The extraordinary rise of the 62-year-old leader, who now thinks PM's job is in his reach, can be largely attributed to his uncanny ability to dissociate himself from bonds that stem from human relations, besides his grit and tenacity.
For Modi, dialogue and dissent were stumbling blocks that slowed him down and he chose to uproot them as and when they came in his way. The first such casualty was Shankersinh Vaghela, his colleague from the BJP who had to leave the party in mid-90s; and then Keshubhai Patel in 2001.
Gathering support
While Modi worked hard in Delhi convincing the party high command about Keshubhai's failures as chief minister and relentlessly demanded to be positioned as the latter's replacement, it was BJP's loss in a bye-election in Gujarat in 2001 that led to his ouster. A stunned Keshubhai's utterance "maro bank shu?" (what was my fault?) went on to become a part of political folklore in the state. Another BJP chief minister, Suresh Mehta, was also relegated to the fringes.
To enshrine himself in Gandhinagar, Modi played his cards perfectly in Delhi and endeared himself to the patriarch of the party, L.K. Advani, who left no stone unturned to protect his protege when the climate got real hot post 2002 riots.
Under his wings, Modi gained strength, enough to inject both awe and fear among the party rungs at the state level. While many dissenters in the state, including Kasiram Rana, Vallabh Kathiria and Nalin Bhatt, were sidelined with active blessings from Advani, his strongest rival Sanjay Joshi was sent packing home.
Spread of Moditva
Once his comrade in arms, VHP leader Pravin Togadia, was shown his place in the state polity, while law caught up with Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodnani who had outlived their purposes. The veneer of development shrouded the high decibel war cries of 'Hindu Hriday Samrat'. Gujarat was morphing itself into the laboratory of Moditva where everything else had to take a back seat.
Meanwhile, his mentor fell out of favour with the RSS for his Jinnah remark and like a true politician with vision, Modi refrained from extending his supporting hand to him. As before, he saw his own rise in the decline of Advani.
Come 2009 and his ambitions were publicly stoked by Arun Shourie, who in a packed press conference in Ahmedabad congratulated Gujarat for producing two Prime Ministers, Advani post 2009 and Modi after that. Modi has relentlessly guarded himself against any question on 2002 riots for over a decade.
On Friday, as almost all BJP leaders except Advani rallied around Modi's coronation as party's Prime Ministerial candidate, a message was loud and clear: either one is with Modi in the BJP or they may be pushed to the fringes.
MODI BLOW TO THE MIGHTY
KESHUBHAI PATEL
After taking over as Gujarat CM for the second time in 1998, Keshubhai refused to let Modi return to Gujarat. Modi convinced BJP high command to replace Keshubhai with him as the CM in 2001. Keshubhai floated the Gujarat Parivartan party (GPP).
SHANKERSINH VAGHELA
Modi had ensured that Keshubhai become the CM in 1995 while a larger section of the party was supporting Vaghela. As party general secretary, Modi started sidelining Vaghela's supporters, which finally led to his resignation.
SURESH MEHTA
Former CM and Keshubhai loyalist Mehta was marginalised in state politics after Modi took over as CM in 2001. The soft-spoken leader resigned from the BJP in 2007.
KASHIRAM RANA
A loyalist of Keshubhai, the former Union minister had sided with dissenters in 2007. Rana was gradually sidelined in the party leading to his resignation from the BJP and entry into the GPP. He passed away in 2012.
Courtesy : India Today
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