Zee Media Bureau/Manisha Singh
New Delhi: The timing of DG Vanzara’s letter hitting out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his man Friday, Amit Shah, is bad, to say the least. For Vanzara, Modi was his `God` who let him down and who used cops for his benefit and then failed to protect them. For multitude of the BJP cadre, the party`s poll panel chief is the man who can take on the Congress and lead the party to victory in the next General Elections.
It was often said that inspite of Congress-led UPA government besieged by scams and being accused of non-governance, the main Opposition, the Bhartiya Janata Party could not really capture the space which the grand old party had conceded. Infact, it was also said that Anna Hazare did what the BJP should have done – brought the government to its knees.
Then happened the Gujarat Assembly elections in November 2012 and Modi rode back to power in emphatic style, winning third time on the trot. This enthused the BJP cadre and the clamour started growing to name Modi as the face of BJP.
Many top brass of the party, including president Rajnath Singh also realised that Modi was probably their best bet for 2014. So, even though the Advani camp was not really happy with the decision, the Gujarat CM was named the party`s campaign committee chief for the next General elections.
On his part Modi too realised that his time had come. He started projecting himself as the man to watch out for. He took on the UPA government, the Congress, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Gandhi family and positioned himself as the PM in waiting.
Meanwhile, the RSS too warmed up to Modi and has been trying to pacify LK Advani and his supporters to accept Modi as the party`s PM candidate for 2014. Infact, rumours are rife that Modi would be named as BJP`s prime ministerial candidate this month itself.
Thus, when everything was almost working out for Modi, suspended Gujarat IPS officer DG Vanzara`s `letter bomb` is something that Modi and BJP could have done without. Though it cannot be said at this point in time that whatever Vanzara has written in his letter is true, Modi`s image may have taken a beating.
It has been reported that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may quiz the cop over contents of the explosive letter written by him. If the investigating agency is able to establish any reference of direct involvement of Modi and Amit Shah in the alleged fake encounters in the state, then the BJP will have a tough time fire-fighting the Congress.
Modi has been painstakingly working towards changing his image for sometime now. He has been reaching out to the youth and the middle class and has been exhorting the people to rid the country of the Congress party. In such a scenario, any dent in his credibility will be akin to a disaster. After all, perception is as important in politics as reality. Vanzara`s letter may or may not mar his chances to be named as his party`s PM candidate but neither the BJP, nor Modi would want any impediment in their mission 2014.
Also, Vanzara`s letter is a testimony to the fact that Modi`s march to Delhi may not be a smooth sailing. On the one hand, he has to fight the opposition within his party and on the other, he has to take on enemies outside, some known and others unknown.
