The demand to anoint Narendra Modi by the party cadre had reached a crescendo. It was a question of when, not if. However, one major obstacle remained:
BJP leaders yet again hit the roads, visiting each other and the Advani residence to soften the Advani camp’s opposition to Modi’s elevation.
At one point, things got so chaotic that Rajnath Singh landed up at Jaitley’s house and Jaitley landed up at Ranjath’s house as there was a communication mix-up over who would land at whose house. Fortunately, they connected over whatsapp and decided to meet in Andhra Bhavan for coffee to firm up their strategy before heading to Advani’s house for a record 1,345,92344th time this year.
As more BJP meetings got underway over chai and sugar, there were reports of sugar and milk shortage from other parts of the country
Over 100 litres of chai already served at LK Advani’s residence, as leaders stream in one by one to try and convince him #Advani
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) September 12, 2013
As for Rajnath Singh, it was just another day at the office. He had already put in 270 nightouts mostly in Advani’s house in a bid to get him to relent ever since he took over as BJP President from the estimable Shri Nitin Gadkari. His punishing workload was beginning to take a toll on his personal life:
Rajnath Singh’s wife (angry at his frequent comings and goings): “Why don’t you just take your stuff and move to Advaniji’s house??”
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) September 13, 2013
With so much frenetic activity, Arun Jaitley had a hard time in not getting his Modis mixed up, his legendary multi-tasking and compartmentalization skills notwithstanding:
In an alternate universe, Jaitley gets his Modis mixed up. Lalit Modi gets reinstated as BCCI Pres, NaMo thrown out of BJP
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) September 13, 2013
As the day progressed, the Modi camp notched up an important victory with Smriti Irani trolling Sushma Swaraj and getting her to relent.
Meanwhile, LK Advani had dug his heels in:
As more and more confabulations got underway (reportedly even Mukesh Ambani made a call to Advani), there was a sudden wave of jubilation…
…but alas, it was a false alarm.
Modi, who was twiddling his thumbs in Gandhinagar waiting for the nod to come over to Delhi, killed time in his inimitable fashion:
Finally, the fatigued leaders decided to go ahead without Advani’s blessings. Innovative suggestions of circumventing the patriarch began to do the rounds:
Maybe they can photoshop Advani into the arms-raised waala photo that the other 11 will click #NaMo
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) September 13, 2013
As the parliamentary board decided to announce Modi’s candidature, Advani excused himself from attending the meet:
LK Advani has excused himself from the parliamentary board meeting to write a blog so that he can time its release with the announcement
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) September 13, 2013
And finally, the announcement was made, sans Advani, as party cadre broke into impromptu celebrations.
Playing 11 declares Modi as PM candidate, while 12th man sits in the dugout. Politics is a game of glorious uncertainties #NaMo
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) September 13, 2013
But somehow it didn’t feel right. And no, we are not referring to Advani’s absence:
LK Advani’s protest is nothing. The real protest is by Arnab Goswami, who’s taken off when the hottest event of the year is happening
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) September 13, 2013
Meanwhile, the BJP camp sported a festive look. Well, mostly.
But BJP leaders claimed that real celebrations were yet to begin.
The Congress on the other hand, quickly reacted through its extended team:
Finally, exhausted after the week’s work, a tired but satisfied Rajnath Singh began to look forward to a relaxed weekend with his family, basking in the thought that he may have achieved something truly remarkable for his party, when this happened:
(With inputs from Unreal Columnists Ashwin Kumar, Ajayendar Reddy)