For some it was a way to connect with those who matter. For others it was a way of letting their hair and guard down. But the focus remained on the food -- which became a political weapon to win friends and influence people. Recall the spurt of get-togethers in the 1990s and first decade of the new century during Roza Iftar, Eid, Teej, Diwali or Holi as new socio-political forces emerged on the political horizon and sought to establish their hold on their vote banks.
All that is a passé.
While the Roza Iftars petered out some years back, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put a stop to the Capital’s ministerial culture of large scale fete-ing and feasting, especially during Delhi’s balmy winters. No BJP minister would dare to even think of hosting one now. And if there are any get-togethers, it would be a few select invitees so that it is seen as a private affair of family and close friends.
Indeed, even when he presides over a meeting with his ministers and party colleagues, Modi plays down the food factor. "We get a sandwich and a cutlet and sometimes a small mithai," said a BJP leader who was once part of Vajpayee’s ministerial team as well.
Modi and Vajpayee
The contrast Modi and former Prime Minsiter Atal Bihari Vajpayee couldn’t have been greater in this respect apart from the differences in their working style. If Modi believes in a frugal platter at a working breakfast/lunch/dinner, Vajpayee was just the opposite. A foodie himself, Vajpayee would lay out a spread for his ministers. "It would be a different menu each time we were called," recalled a leader.
The working style of the two BJP leaders is also a study in contrast. Modi is decisive who does not believe in taking the long and tortuous road to arrive at a conclusion. In doing so, he risks being called dictatorial and a control freak and sometimes of ignoring and bypassing procedures. Vajpayee on the other hand opted for lengthy consultations and structured meetings in a bid to carry everyone along.
"For instance, if a minister had a contentious issue to be thrashed out, Vajpayee would tell him to contact senior leaders like LK Advani or NSA Brajesh Mishra or other NDA leaders whose ministry would be impacted by the decision. It would often take a fortnight or more before things could get moving," he recalled.
But no file pushing for Modi. "If he is contacted about three points relating to an issue he is quite likely to give his instructions and clearance on the phone itself and if he wants a detailed discussion on any one of them, he would arrange a meeting at the earliest," the leader said.
The fact that Vajpayee was dependent on allies for his government’s survival and Modi, on the other hand, has the distinct advantage of numbers with him in the Lok Sabha does not sufficiently explain the differing styles of the two leaders. “Modi wants quick decisions,” the leader added.
Given this, sources indicate that the reforms agenda is uppermost on the PM’s mind at present. Even when he was in Nepal for the SAARC summit, Modi was in touch with the ministers. For instance, he got in touch with this minister to get an update on the progress made in resolving the faceoff with the opposition on the amendment to the Delhi Police Special Act that deals with the appointment of the CBI director.
'Not an intimation PM'
This decisiveness shows that Modi is and wants to remain a hands-on prime minister who cannot be taken for granted, as one minister learnt to his chagrin. "I am not an intimation prime minister," he is believed to have snapped at one such hapless colleague who thought that merely keeping the helmsman in the loop would be enough.
He seemed to have taken the PM literally on his word that he should not be distracted with minor issues. The only problem is what the minister may have considered minor may be major for the PM who, through his actions, has underlined that the final clearance of any major policy matter remains with him.
Given this, there is uncertainty among ministers on when to approach him and when to keep away — or matters that they should or should not talk about in public. It is something that they have been grappling with and it will take them time to learn — more so, since most of them are first time ministers if not first time MPs. Even migrants who have joined the party are getting to learn that the only thing they can bring with them when they call on the PM is a bouquet of flowers.
And if ministers believe that foreign jaunts are an integral perk of their ministerial responsibility, Modi has rapidly disabused them of it. Unless it is imperative, foreign destinations are as big a no-no as the parties that ministers in previous dispensations would throw. Where the new regime is concerned, question of taking family members and friends on junkets while on ministerial assignments abroad does not even arise, say sources. “Voh din gaiye…(those days have gone),” quipped a leader.
Clearly, Modi is leaving his stamp on Delhi even as leaders within and outside the BJP fold are trying to get a sense of what he is all about.
Modi and opposition leaders
Believe it or not, the man Modi is perhaps most comfortable with from (among the current crop of Opposition leaders in Parliament) is the one he dislodged from power — Manmohan Singh. Clearly, he is not holding it against the Congress veteran, who on more than one occasion, maintained that the elevation of the Gujarat leader as prime minister would be disastrous for the country.
The thread that binds the duo who are separated by two decades in age and an unbridgeable chasm in ideology is the link they shared as participants of the National Development Council meetings when Singh was prime minister and Modi the chief minister.
Modi by temperament is considered a friendly person but not someone who would make friends easily. As a BJP officebearer in Delhi or as the CM, Modi has had his share of interactions with the national leadership. But this was circumscribed and limited and, quite unlike the camaraderie that grows among MPs and ministers who interact with each other in Parliament.
Leaders who keep an eye on who’s talking to whom have noticed Modi stopping to greet or talk to Singh on quite a few occasions. And although Modi was seen putting his hand on Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s arm after the Lok Sabha polls and there have been photographs of Modi, Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the Dussehra celebrations this year, BJP sources claim that there is hardly any equation between them.
Despite their bitter political and ideological rivalry, Sonia shared a good rapport with the BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was prime minister. But she is reportedly wary of Modi who she once dubbed in an election rally as a "maut ka saudagar". And Rahul — known to even keep his own senior party leaders at an arm’s distance — would be unlikely to even exchange other than the most cursory and necessary civilities with him.
Curiously, Singh apart, Modi is perhaps also at ease with Left leaders like CPI-M’s Sitaram Yechury or CPI’s D Raja with whom he had interacted on earlier occasions and who are nearer his age bracket. Modi and Raja reportedly chatted away when they were seated next to each other at AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa's swearing-in ceremony as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
Insiders maintain that leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav are almost strangers to Modi. "They are on different wave lengths altogether," said a BJP leader.
But it's still early to say anything yet. And the PM, who has found admirers among world leaders, is likely to reach out to leaders within the country as well. With a mandate of five years, he has time on his side.
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