No more Modi magic in Haryana

The old magic is no longer working. Modi's personal charisma and his powerful oratory - 'Modi hai to Mumkin hai' - is falling flat.

- Rashme Sehgal

The disillusioned public in Haryana are no longer interested in listening to him.

His first election rally held in Kurukshetra earlier this month turned out to be a flop. Although it was the first public rally the prime minister was addressing after Lok Sabha elections, only a small crowd collected to listen to him. Worse was to follow: when he started speaking, they began walking out.

The message was loud and clear. The BJP is coming to terms with the disastrous performance of former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Both he and his posters were missing from the pulpit from where Modi spoke even though he is the member of parliament from nearby Karnal. But the public present at the venue also wanted to know in what capacity the present chief minister Naib Singh Saini was standing alongside Modi since there has been no official notification of his having been made chief minister.