Long before the trends began flashing on TV screens, Jayanti Kesri positioned himself outside the Congress headquarters. He hoped to make a killing today with his Congress memorabilia, ‘‘sola anna pucca’’ that this was going to be the party’s day. For 10 years, he had hawked cutouts and badges without much luck. But today seemed different. Kesri could tell. Pinning a photograph of his father — for 40 years, he also sold cutouts, changing faces, slogans as governments rose and fell — on his shirt, Kesri stated doing the rounds. As reporters hovered around Digvijay Singh, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, Mohsina Kidwai at the AICC office, Kesri waved a huge Hand. Price: Rs 50. If you didn’t think much of the Hand, he showed you the Sonia wave. Only Rs 50. On his shirt, he wore badges which ranged between Rs 5 and 10.Three hours later, he was still there, waving the Hand and Sonia. The badge count remained the same. By then, he was sure none of this would sell. Not today.Around him, party workers were bursting crackers, dancing, posing for the cameras, shaking hands with policemen and screaming ‘‘Sonia, Sonia’’. That she was not around to see their histrionics made no difference. The party hadn’t had a party for a long, long time.And Kesri, he was still waving the Hand. ‘‘It doesn’t matter if I don’t sell any today. Ab mein party ka prachar kar raha hoon (now I am on publicity work). My guess turned out to be correct. The party’s winning, it will again be like my father’s days. More people, newer people will come now to the party office. It’s good for business,’’ he reasoned.Near him, spokesman Abhishek Singhvi was telling reporters that the ‘‘hype of hot air balloons’’ hadn’t worked. India Shining, he said, was never there. So how could it have worked, Singhvi asked. Kesri nodded, half opening his mouth to join the dissection of the BJP defeat. But they all had their backs to him, he continued to wave the Hand. His time had come, his hour was almost here.
