No missing saffron in Uma red carpet

Uma never uttered a word about Hindutva. She didn’t need to. Because the moment she came on the dais, she stretched her arms in trademark greeting and the crowd responded, shouting Jai Shri Ram.

Watching her were Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi,Defence Minister George Fernandes, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie and, among others, the man she ousted, Digvijay Singh.

Giriraj Kishore was clear in his mind: development and Hindutva could not be viewed differently and the fact that Uma sought the blessings of the religious heads meant this was a victory for Hindutva.

Although Digvijay and Uma went for each other aggressively during the campaign, she called on him after she was declared victorious. She also called up Murli Manohar Joshi, the man she battled constantly as his MoS in 1998. But all that seemed forgotten and forgiven because Joshi, who went out of the way to be present in Bhopal today, called her ‘‘our Raja Beta’’. And then he called Vasundhara Raje, sworn in as chief minister of Rajasthan, as the party’s ‘‘Rani Bitiya’’ and Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh ‘‘Dharti Beta’’. Speaking to the The Indian Express, Joshi said, ‘‘I have told Uma now that she has been given a large state, she should administer with a large heart.’’ Her challenge, he said, was to ‘‘keep the legislature party with her’’ though he did compliment her for being ‘‘very hardworking’’.

Joshi, who got a Parliament discussion rescheduled today, took the permission of the Rajya Sabha chairman to be in Bhopal. He dashed back this morning to Delhi from Bangalore where he had gone to address a conference last evening. He hired a special aircraft and flew to Bhopal, making it to the ceremony only a minute before the Governor. Uma was waiting at the entrance to welcome him.