THE THREE- DIMENSIONAL FORCE

Though Modi is known to keep his cards close to his chest, sources close to him say that he has already chalked out his strategy for the next four months with a focus on Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, states that together send 120 members to Parliament. Some fans even speculate that Modi plans to adopt Uttar Pradesh as his ‘ karmabhoomi’ and may contest from one of the symbolically important constituencies of Varanasi, Allahabad or Lucknow. Some supporters hope that he will choose Lucknow so that he can officially inherit the mantle of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who represented the seat for five consecutive terms till 2009. But can he abandon Gujarat, the home state that has made him a global brand of development politics?

Beginning end- June, Modi plans to address 75 rallies till September 25, birthday of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, one of the builders of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh. He is likely to take a break and spend more time in his state during the monsoon session of the Assembly in August. “He does not want to give the message to the people of his state that he has forsaken them. Even the Opposition in the state will pounce on him on the issue,” says a BJP leader, known to be close to Modi. His next big thing for Gujarat: A statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, twice the height of the Statue of Liberty, at Sadhu Bet over river Narmada. He has pledged to make the ‘ Statue of Unity’ using iron from ploughs of farmers in each village of the country.

Modi is likely to break his journey into phases and his team is already at work, drawing up an itinerary for him. In the first phase, Modi will focus on states where the BJP has ceded ground over the years. In addition to Uttar Pradesh, these include Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Modi will also tour states that are going to polls before the year- end— Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chhattisgarh. “RSS has instructed the chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh ( Shivraj Singh Chouhan) and Chhattisgarh ( Raman Singh) to extend invites to Modi to address rallies in their states. It should not appear as if Modi is treading on their ground,” says an insider.

Modi is being extremely careful to avoid any controversy. He will go to sensitive states like Bihar in