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Fine balance between campaigning, duty

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When Hudhud was just about to strike the Odisha- Andhra coast, prime minister Narendra Modi's campaign managers in Maharashtra went into a tizzy. They were told that the prime minister may have to cancel his rallies if the situation warranted. The party's star campaigner was to address five rallies in the state that day.

The cyclone kept the party organisers on tenterhooks, but shuffling between rallies and his prime ministerial responsibilities, Modi managed to stick to his schedule. With his aircraft and helicopter converted into almost a full-fledged office with high-tech communication systems in place, the prime minister was continuously monitoring the developments and giving directions, government sources said.

Modi is replicating a system similar to that of the US president who does not delegate authority when he moves out of the White House but takes his office wherever he goes, they said. In India, there has been a practice of handing over charge to the senior most cabinet minister whenever the prime minister leaves town.

During the Indo-Pak border tensions also, Modi got minute by minute updates from National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and kept in regular touch with defence minister Arun Jaitley and home minister Rajnath Singh. According to the sources, it was after speaking to Modi that the NSA had given direction to respond to Pakistani firing with effective retaliation and not go ahead with flag meetings.

"He was always hands on whether it concerned Delhi or his rallies in Maharashtra and Haryana," said BJP general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Rajiv Pratap Rudy.

The prime minister, on whom the BJP has pinned its hopes for the assembly elections in two Opposition-ruled states, held 27 rallies in Maharashtra and 11 in Haryana from October 4 to 13.

Towards the fag end of his high-pitched campaigning, his voice cracked but he continued to unleash an unrelenting attack on rivals as he promised development.

Modi's spate of rallies made him the target of opposition parties, including the BJP's former ally Shiv Sena.

"Times have changed. Communication is easier now. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party and government. Manmohan Singh was neither," said BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi justifying Modi's hectic campaign schedule.

BJP sources said the party had initially planned to hold meetings — morning and evening — in both states on the same day. But, later it was decided to keep it confined to one state on a particular day.

When he is on the dais, Modi uses the few minutes he has before addressing to rally to take a briefing or notes from local leaders. A BJP leader said Modi begins his work early in the morning and winds up late in the night managing his political and prime ministerial responsibility with ease.

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