Such a long way

Modhwadia began his campaign on Monday with the rural stretch of his constituency located on the Porbandar-Dwarka highway. Around 8.30 a.m., Modhwadia and his team drove up to a community hall in Kucchadi village on the outskirts of Porbandar city. The small gathering there cheered as Modhwadia, dressed in a full-sleeved khadi kurta stepped out. By then, Modhwadia’s supporter Shamant Odedara was done with the canvassing. “Arjunbhai can become the chief minister. To give him the responsibility of our constituency and the state, we must elect him with a huge margin,” said Odedara. Another round of applause.

As the villagers cheered, they looked entirely convinced that Modhwadia could become the next CM. After all, his rise has been phenomenal—only five years ago, he was a first-time MLA and now he is the leader of the Congress Legislative Party.

At every village that he stopped, Modhwadia made it a point to address the gathering, which gave him a patient hearing, sometimes responding with claps. But many of them only wanted to shake his hands. “The last time, I went to the Assembly thinking I would become a good MLA. But like you did, the party showed trust in my leadership and gave me more responsibility. This time, I assure you that I will be in a position to solve all the problems of our constituency,” he said, deliberately keeping out any talk of being the future CM.

But Modhwadia is aware that if the Congress were to score an upset win, he would be among the frontrunners for the top post. But for now, all that Modhwadia tells his voters is to turn out in large numbers on polling day.