Rangeela s presence in the fray could have been trifle uncomfortable for Modi.
He may not have posed an electoral challenge to the prime minister, but Rangeela s public meetings could have seen people flocking, if only to hear him mimic Modi.
In a completely Modi-centric election, the presence of a rival if only for a smattering of audience at his meetings would not have been particularly appreciated by Modi, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
It is a double century with a difference for the cricketer turned politician, who is the lead campaigner for the Opposition Mahagathbandhan in the state.
Those who feared that I would have run one hell of a campaign targeting the most powerful people in India snatched away my democratic right from me. I will expose these democracy-killers.
While people voted in a fifth round that will set the tone as this election rounds into the straight, and while Modi on the stump chews the cud of personal grievances and hackneyed promises that have long since passed their use-by date, there is a rogue wave rising what damage it will do, we will know 16 days from today, observes Prem Panicker.