TNN

Ahmedabad, May 7: Let us just call it the BJP’s worst nightmare, even if it is an unimaginable prospect for most BJP men in Gujarat. The proclaimed prime ministerial candidate losing an election!

That’s enough to have hell break loose. BJP sources say the distinct improvement in the NDA’s prospects of forming a government at the Centre may be entirely on account of the whirlwind campaign across the country by its spearhead and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi supporters were also calling him the biggest ‘vote converter’ for the BJP in the Hindi heartland. Yet, there was still a big question mark on Gandhinagar. Was Modi able to convert enough votes for his political guru LK Advani? Is the Gandhinagar seat safely in pocket?

While Patels were drifting from the BJP, particularly in Gandhinagar, Modi was expected to convert OBC votes in BJP’s favour. Signs of nervousness have started showing and questions are being asked on whether Modi left some unfinished task behind as he launches himself on the national scene.

There is no doubt that Modi put his entire might and his most trusted aides behind Advani’s campaign in Gandhinagar. He himself addressed four meetings in Gandhinagar — the maximum in any seat in Gujarat. But, was it enough? Doubts are being cast because even BJP leaders are talking about only a slender victory for Advani.

The cocky confidence with which Congress candidate Suresh Patel is going around accepting greetings of voters in the constituency gives the impression that he is already seeing himself as the giant-killer. Even Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel is salivating over the prospect of tripping Advani in a seat he has comfortably won five times.

If Patel is able to create the biggest upset of General Elections 2009, questions will be raised on Modi’s motives. It is not that Missile Modi, already dubbed a prime ministerial candidate in certain quarters, will benefit out of Advani’s misfortune. A loss in Gandhinagar would be a taint hard to wipe off.