A few years ago, Narendra Damodardas Modi and Shivraj Singh Chouhan were both chief ministers of states.
Their rivalry was understated, but apparent. Chouhan was close to Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Lal Kishenchand Advani and probably hoped that he would have a shot at the top job one day in the future .
All that desire has likely evaporated now. Modi is clearly here for the long haul.
And in the unlikely event of him stepping aside on September 17, 2025 when he turns 75 -- the age when BJP leaders are banished to the party's Magdarshak Mandal -- there is Amit Anilchandra Shah and Ajay Mohan Bisht/Yogi Adityanath (of course, that will depend if the BJP wins the UP assembly election) in the wings.
During his current term as Madhya Pradesh chief minister, Chouhan has burnished his Hindutva credentials, maybe to avert a challenge from Modi-Shah favourites for his job.
And, of course, declarations like the one he reportedly made about Modi on a recent visit to Goa -- 'I am not saying this because I am a chief minister and a BJP worker. I am saying what I feel in my heart. He is superhuman and has traces of God in him -- help.
Kindly click on the image for a look at Thursday's Modi-Chouhan encounter in New Delhi.
IMAGE: Chouhan felicitates the 'superhuman' with 'traces of God in him' at the prime minister's office in Parliament House.
Photograph: ANI Photo
Photograph curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
