Sanjay Joshi, one of his betes noirs, was re-inducted into the BJP to assist in the political affairs of Uttar Pradesh.
Is it uncanny coincidence or some unfavourable movement of planets? The month of August, which is said to cause 'krantis', has turned out to be rather unfavourable for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
Sanjay Joshi, one of his betes noirs, was re-inducted into the BJP to assist in the political affairs of Uttar Pradesh.
Also, the final hearing of the appeal of Asgar Ali and 12 other accused convicted by the trial court in the Haren Pandya murder case is scheduled to begin in Gujarat high court on Monday. While the lawyers of the convicts are quite hopeful of a favourable verdict, Modi's already overworked legal advisors are keeping their fingers crossed about the outcome of the hearing.
Modi’s early years in Gujarat politics were marked by rivalry with these two adversaries. The chief minister wanted Pandya to vacate his prestigious Ellisbridge seat for him but Pandya is believed to have refused. He was murdered a few months later, allegedly by Islamist extremists.
Joshi, like Pandya, was a popular leader in Gujarat when Modi returned to the state and replaced Keshubhai Patel as the chief minister.
Joshi was perceived as a threat because of his popularity among local party workers. In 2005, a sex CD surfaced in which a person perceived to be Joshi was seen with an unidentified woman. As a result he was forced to resign from the party.
Since then Joshi had maintained a very low profile, till Nitin Gadkari took over as BJP president. The buzz was that, like Uma Bharati, Joshi too would be re-inducted into the party.
The past fortnight has been rather harrowing for the chief minister. Within hours of the formal announcement of Joshi's induction, Gujarat Governor appointed a Lokayukta for the state. The Governor had ignored the council of ministers - a definite smack for the government.
Another bad news is the buzz that Modi's former confidant, Amit Shah, may be arrested again, this time in the Tulsi Prajapati fake encounter case.
Earlier, the month saw the suspension of IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt while another IPS officer, Rahul Sharma, was chargesheeted. Another shocker was IPS officer Rajneesh Rai's affidavit underlining the alleged attempt by some senior IPS officers to sabotage the investigation into Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
But the Damocles' sword that still hangs over Modi is the awaited Supreme Court order on the report submitted by amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran, on the chief minister's alleged role in
the riots of 2002. That, it is believed, may well decide
his future.
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