'Gentle' Modi says not bigger than party

Sources say the CM is readying for a softer image for his national foray.

A day after he sculpted a spectacular victory in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi allowed a glimpse of emotion in his larger-than-life image, which some in the BJP say is going to be the hallmark of his third stint as chief minister of the state.

At a meeting of the party's legislative party in Ahmedabad, an emotional Modi told his MLAs he did not consider himself bigger than the party. "Those who say Modi is bigger than party do not know the history of the BJP and the Jan Sangh," Modi said.

"A son cannot be bigger than a mother," an emotional Modi said, suggesting that he could not be bigger than the party. "It is 'vikrut manskita' (perverted mindset) to say that Modi is bigger than the party," he said.

This kinder, gentler Modi, his partymen in New Delhi say, will be in evidence in the coming months as he "enters a new phase in his career."

"Modi has made every point he wanted to make in Gujarat through the spectacular victory. He will be looking at the 2014 general election now," said a BJP office-bearer.

RSS sources admitted attempts at rapprochement between them and Modi for the last two months. "But there was rigidity on both sides. He was also disappointed that even after he had done so much to accommodate us, we were not forthcoming with help. During the election, district-level meetings were held and all pracharaks were told to act according to their conscience. Things are being sorted out. We feel that neither party will gain if these differences are allowed to fester," an RSS source said. "In fact, yesterday's statement welcoming the victory had the highest possible clearance and things are back on track," he added.

Many in the party credit the "kinder, gentler" Modi to party General Secretary Arun Jaitley, while others say that it is a part of the strategy for the 2014 general election. An emotional Modi is needed to appeal to the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, Modi was today unanimously elected the leader of the Gujarat BJP Legislature Party. He will be sworn in tomorrow.

All 117 newly-elected BJP MLAs met at Town Hall in Gandhingar and chose Modi. The swearing-in ceremony will take place tomorrow at the Sardar Patel stadium in Ahmedabad. The ceremony will coincide with the birthday of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Modi was earlier scheduled to be sworn in on December 27.

Stating that the BJP workers were driven by mission, not ambition, Modi said people had not given them power but responsibility. "Whoever thinks I will give them anything is mistaken. It is you all who will have to give your best to the state," he said, indicating that he will not tolerate undue political interference in governance.

"When we avoided political appointees as chairmen of state PSUs, there was a propaganda that the BJP would suffer because of this. Everybody who said so was proved wrong as it did not reflect in the (Assembly) results," he said.