Gujarat Bhawan: Delhi’s new power centre

New Delhi: Till such time as the PM-designate Narendra Modi takes up residence at 7 Race Course Road, all roads will continue to lead to his current residence in Delhi, the Gujarat Bhawan. The most sought after politician in Delhi today has everyone tracking his every move – a task that is turning out to be more and more difficult with the massive security apparatus that has come up around him.  Since Modi’s arrival in Delhi on Saturday (May 17) to a hero’s welcome after leading the BJP to unprecedented heights in the Lok Sabha polls, an otherwise low-profile Gujarat Bhawan has turned into Delhi’s new power centre that the who’s who of India’s new political elite is fighting to be a part of. [caption id=“attachment_1534155” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Narendra Modi in Parliament. Agencies.[/caption] Behind the heavily barricaded state guest house on Kautilya Marg, Modi and his Man Friday Amit Shah – the architect of BJP’s record breaking performance in Uttar Pradesh – have been holding marathon meetings with politicians, RSS functionaries and regional leaders as they decide the new face of India’s government and keep a close track of political developments in the crucial states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. With Modi and Shah camping there since Saturday, Gujarat Bhawan has turned into a veritable fortress. Its premises have been cordoned-off by the police, turning it into a high-security zone with no media person allowed access beyond the barricades. Among some of the high-profile visitors who’ve visited Modi at the Gujarat Bhawan since his arrival in Delhi are the BJP President who is widely expected to be the No.2 man in Modi’s government Rajnath Singh (whose residence too has been seeing a lot of hectic political activity), senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and senior party leader Kalyan Singh, LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy. The only time Modi moved out of Gujarat Bhawan was when he called on the party’s old guard - L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi - at their residence. The high-level political meetings continued on Tuesday with Modi meeting Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar and Punjab CM and SAD leader Prakash Singh Badal. Also among those to call on Modi at Gujarat Bhawan this morning was Rajya Sabha member and BJP spokesperson Smriti Irani. Modi is expected to leave Delhi later this evening for Gujarat. . It is expected that on his return to Delhi he will continue to camp at Gujarat Bhawan till he is sworn in as Prime Minister later this week.