Advani and Modi on the dais in Vapi, the vacant seat in the middle. (AFP)

Nov. 6: Narendra Modi was the punctilious host and L.K. Advani the copybook guest.

The Gujarat chief minister laid it extravagant for the veteran “yatri” from the moment Advani’s “Jan Chetna Rath” crossed the border of Daman and rolled into his state through Vapi, a chemical hub 400km east of Gandhinagar.

He had a helicopter whirr across the skies till the motorised chariot was smothered with flower petals.

After garlanding Advani inside the rath , Modi refused to allow the veteran to reciprocate the gesture. No, he was not rude, an aide emphasised. “You see, in Hindu tradition, the courtesies are extended to the guest, the host always takes a back seat.”

At the welcome arch, Modi lined up a repast that included a baroque representation of “secularism” in the shape of children dressed like priests, “Bharat Mata” and Dawoodi Bohra drummer boys. He marshalled a thousand youths with saffron bandanas on motorcycles to race with the convoy.

The frisson that was palpable between Advani and Modi, shortly after the yatra was announced, had dissipated, at least for public consumption. Neither let the other feel he was a claimant to the throne of the Prime Minister in 2014.

At Vapi, where Advani addressed his first public meeting, Modi pointedly left one of the two ornamental chairs placed on the dais vacant and sat on an ordinary steel one. Advani occupied one “throne” with a nervous Gujarat BJP president R.C. Faladu sandwiched between him and Modi.

Later, Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat and national vice-president Purshottam Rupala sat on the empty “throne” , knowing he was not a threat to anyone, least of all to Advani and Modi .

The Modi-enforced protocol was observed at the next meeting at Valsad. The chief minister had been unabashed about his national ambitions not so long ago when he launched an image makeover through his “Sadhbhavna mission”. Finally, the seating order was “rectified” at a late-evening gathering in Navsari.

State BJP sources said it became a talking point among the cadres who felt Modi was reinforcing his resentment over Advani’s yatra by keeping a “physical distance” from him . “If he thought he was being a stickler for propriety, the message was not received in the intended spirit,” a source said.

Not that Advani passed up an occasion to take a swipe at Modi even as he coated his speeches with endorsements for his government. In Vapi, he resurrected Nitish Kumar, red rag to Modi after he made it plain that the Gujarat chief minister was unwanted in Bihar.

“I recall that when Nitish was the railway minister, he frequently launched schemes in Gujarat and sometimes invited me to the functions. I told Nitish, if you do a checklist of the states on one count, namely, ticketless travel, Gujarat will come out in flying colours because few, if any, Gujaratis travel without buying a ticket,” he said.

Modi pretended not to listen and chatted with BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar, seated by his side .

Modi returned Advani’s back-handed compliment by turning the agenda of the yatra to grandstand politically in the run-up to next year’s state elections.

At a street-corner meeting at Valsad, he said: “Governments can be run efficiently and productively without corruption. We (Gujaratis) have demonstrated this . Gujarat is an example of attaining development without corruption .”

Modi coined what could be the catchphrase for the next elections: “The Congress is synonymous with corruption while Gujarat is synonymous with development. Development without corruption.”

Without naming the Gandhis, he insinuated that the black money issue , apart from being linked to the Congress, had a “foreign trail”.

“There is something black in the lentils (daal mein kuch kala hai), may be the daal itself is black. Otherwise, why does the Congress not say anything about repatriating the black money (kalo dhan) stashed away in Swiss banks? That wealth is like a bird trapped in a gilded cage in a secret vault in a foreign country,” Modi alleged, putting a figure on the supposed amount: “Rs 25 lakh crore.”

In his characteristic oratorical style, he engaged the crowd of women and young men in Navsari. “I have trouble rattling off the figure, so you help me. How much is the money worth?”

“Rupees 25 lakh,” said the audience.

“No,” roared Modi, “It is Rs 25 lakh crore . Do you wish to use RTI to get the names of the accountholders, including the three MPs?” he asked .

“Yes,” declaimed the listeners.

Advani had no choice but to emulate Modi’s articulations. After expressing in writing his regret to Sonia Gandhi for allegedly linking her family to the black money route, he demanded that she spell out her stand on the issue and, if she didn’t, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should ask her to.

Advani said instead of inflation and corruption, he would ensure that the subject of black money dominated Parliament’s winter session.

In the jugalbandi over black money, Modi proved he had the last word. People everywhere heard him out raptly. Many walked out as soon as Advani took the mike.