Analysis: What’s in store for Narendra Modi

So the magic of prime minister-in-waiting Narendra Modi is wearing off within a month or so after he celebrated, like Macbeth, his so-called victory over the decade-long ‘persecution campaign’.

The mercurial leader who claims to have transformed Gujarat single-handedly is sulking because another prime minister-in-waiting, LK Advani’s umpteenth rathyatra will be flagged off from Bihar, the same state where another prime minister-in-waiting, Nitish Kumar, is singlehandedly changing the face of the state.

From toast to roast, the journey is quite quick in a political oven, and Modi is clever enough to know that. With his three-day fast, Modi tried to build bridges but by refusing to wear a skull cap, he demolished them himself. His supporters see even this act as something that will go down well with his Hindu vote bank.

The mask was torn off the next day as a newspaper carried a series of pictures where Modi was wearing different sets of head gears.

Besides, how quickly did Modi return to his vindictive self? The arrest of anti-Modi crusader cop Sanjiv Bhatt showed how the leader can’t take criticism. In Madhya Pradesh, a cartoonist was jailed for caricaturing Modi’s skull cap incident.

Modi should remember what happened in the 1990s. Just as he was being seen as the next big thing in the BJP, LK Advani became the darling of a large section of media and corporates who wholeheartedly supported his Babri Masjid campaign. As the BJP rode the Hindutva wave, everyone believed he was the natural choice for the PM’s post.

But the numbers forced their hands and the mild faced (or The Mask as RSS ideologue Govindacharya said), Atal Behari Vajpayee, was chosen ahead of Advani who had traversed thousands of kilometres in his air-conditioned rath. His dream of adorning the top political post in the country remained unfulfilled even though many believed he was a better administrator than a deft politician like Vajpayee.

Modi’s case is worse. Though he tom-toms the Supreme Court’s refusal to monitor case against him, his allies still consider him taboo. And it’s not just Nitish Kumar. Even the Hinduer-than-thou Shiv Sena is miffed with him for getting too close to their thorn in the flesh, Raj Thackeray.

And even if he conquered them all, and just in case he got the opportunity to address the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, he will get to know the real taste of India as the allies pick his brains. In Gujarat, he has enjoyed an unopposed run. In Delhi, it’s a slugfest. In 2014, Modi may suddenly find he is just the bridesmaid. Just like Advani did.