Modi storms Capital, keeps date with Kashi
NEW DELHI / VARANASI: Fresh off his smashing success in the general elections, Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi came home to Delhi — and a raucous reception — on Saturday, before later travelling to Varanasi to offer Ganga aarti.
Much like a victorious warrior coming to claim his grand prize, the 63-year-old BJP strongman led a procession from the airport to the party office on Ashoka Road as a sea of adoring party workers and fans cheered him on — the weekend traffic on the stretch resembling weekday rush hour. He made several stops along the way, waving to the swelling crowd, flashing the victory sign and even standing on his SUV’s foot board.
The party HQ too was bustling with supporters. Basking in the grand welcome, Modi credited the BJP’s win to India’s 1.25 billion people and pledged to take everybody along. He will be formally elected parliamentary party leader on May 20 after which he will go to President Pranab Mukherjee to stake claim to form the government. Sources said Modi would likely take oath sometime next week.
“We have not decided the swearing-in date. It will be decided only after May 20,” BJP president Rajnath Singh said after a parliamentary board meeting attended by Modi and senior leaders, including LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj and MM Joshi.
Singh said the board has started the process of anointing Modi’s successor in Gujarat.
“We have decided to send party general secretary Thawar Chand Gehlot to consult Gujarat BJP MLAs,” Singh said. Sources said discussions on government formation and possible roles for party seniors, including Advani, were still on.
In a significant gesture, Advani — who’d vehemently opposed Modi’s anointment as PM candidate — greeted the PM designate with a hug and sweets while the latter bent to touch the patriarch’s feet. The board adopted a resolution applauding Modi for his “tireless effort” and “inspirational” leadership.
His business in Delhi finished, Modi flew to Varanasi where he performed Ganga aarti at the Dashashwamedh ghat. “Did you know what Neil Armstrong wrote in his diary?... ‘When I was going to the moon, I was an astronaut but while I was coming back, I realized I was a minuscule part of the universe’. Similarly, when I came here I was just a candidate, now I am a part of Varanasi,” he said. Reiterating “Ma Ganga called me here”, he said, “Now, it is time to do my bit for Ma Ganga. Ma Ganga is waiting for her son to free her from pollution.”
Coming back to the BJP’s victory, he remarked, “It is for the first time after Independence that a non-Congress government will form the government with a full majority.” And in reference to the Congress winning fewer seats (44) nationwide than the BJP’s tally in just one state (71 in UP), he said, “It is for the first time the opposition will have to make a coalition in Parliament.”