Devoted Modi wife, Jashodaben on 'pilgrimage' to duck media

As details of Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha affidavit emerged, the biggest news soon became the fact that the BJP’s PM candidate had, for the first time, acknowledged Jashodaben as his wife. In the affidavit filed for the 2012 Assembly elections in Gujarat, Modi had left the space for spouse as blank. Naturally post Modi’s acknowledgement of Jashodaben, the media tried tracking her down. However, anticipating the same, Jashodaben has done a ‘vanishing act,’ says a Times of India report. [caption id=“attachment_1436253” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Narendra Modi in this file photo. Reuters[/caption] The report says that, “she was whisked away to an undisclosed location by family members — some said she had left on a ‘char dham’ pilgrimage with a congregation of 40 women.” While she is believed to have said that she didn’t expect anything from her husband, she did express a desire to be acknowledged as a his wife, adds the report. Also despite being abandoned by Modi, Jashodaben still chooses to observe some rituals for the ‘good’ of her husband. The report quotes close relatives as saying that “she had given up eating rice for some months now as a penance to see Modi as PM and that she gave up wearing footwear for four months seeking PM candidature for her husband." She’s also on “a once-a-day diet” to see Modi become PM. “Her prayers have been answered as Narendrabhai has publicly accepted her as his wife. We are very happy. We all pray for him to become PM,” Kamlesh Modi, Jashoda’s elder brother who runs a grocery shop in Unjha told TOI. Modi’s family also has high regard for Jashoda. According to Modi’s sister Vasanta, Jashoda never spoke badly about Narendra Modi despite being abandoned and ‘is a true Indian woman."  For Modi, the declaration of Jashodaben as his wife has quite caused a stir. The PM candidate’s brother had yesterday issued a clarification , saying that Narendra Modi was married to Jashodaben over 45 years back when he was a minor and the family was poor and uneducated. “What happened 45-50 years ago should be seen in context with the circumstances of a poor and superstitious family,” he had said. Modi has tried to project himself as a single man, with no family ties. Just a month back, Modi had said at a rally, “Mere liye na koi aagey, na peechhey. Kiske liye bhrashtachaar karunga? (I’ve no familial ties. Who would I ever try to benefit through corruption?).” He had pointed out that only people who are free of mundane worries can tackle the issue of corruption. Wedded at 17, Modi had walked away from his marriage after three years.