The day after polls saw Chief Minister Narendra Modi closeted with his bureaucrats in preparation for the National Development Council (NDC) meeting to be held in Delhi on December 19. Modi, however had a visitor in Fisheries Minister Purshottam Solanki.
Having booked theatres across the state earlier in the day for the release of a film he made on Modi, Solanki met him to seek his time for a premiere either in Gandhinagar or Ahmedabad. Financed by a Surat-based builder, who is a business partner of Solanki's brother Hira, the film — Gujarat No Nath — had hit a roadblock with the censors, and was cleared a week before the polls.
In contrast to Solanki, Congress' media cell in-charge, Manish Doshi was busy in a not so enviable job, making phone calls to all taluka presidents of the party, and asking them to return the 300 Toyota Innovas that the party had rented for campaigning purposes across the state.
Elsewhere, former Narmada Minister Jainarayan Vyas switched off his mobile to take a day of complete rest. Giving him company were party spokespersons of both the BJP and the Congress in Ahmedabad, Yamal Vyas and Himanshu Vyas, who too, switched off their mobile phones, as did Jaynarayan Vyas, the Siddhpur BJP candidate, a day after the polls.
However, Vyas's Congress opponent in Sidhpur, Balwantsinh Rajput, got busy with the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of his edible oil company that is out to be next month. Many others too switched on to their business roles promptly, like Amreli BJP candidate Dilip Sanghani who addressed the board meeting of Amreli District Central Co-operative Bank, as did Jayesh Radadia, who attended to his family business after the polls.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Arjun Modhwadia rested in Gandhinagar with a sore throat, leaving for his hometown of Porbandar only in the evening. Even the dissident group of the BJP did not rest. The rebels led by former Chief Ministers Keshubhai Patel and Suresh Mehta were busy gauging the impact of their ‘work’ against Narendra Modi on the election results. Huddled at the residence of Mehta in Gandhinagar, were Gordhan Zadaphia, Arvind Patel and Balu Tanti. The small impromptu meet also chalked out a strategy for further action under the banner of Sardar Patel Utkarsh Samiti.
State Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki rested in Borsad and went for a check up in Anand hospital for the peptic ulcer ailment he contracted in the last leg of campaigning. BJP state chief Purshottam Rupala rested at his Gandhinagar home and renewed his driving license.
There were also incidents of divine blessings being sought for a favourable result in the elections. The likes of Jasha Barad, the Congress candidate from Somnath, and Neemaben Acharya from Anjar, and rebels like Dhiru Gajera paid obeisance to the deities. Likewise, Sabir Kabliwala, the Congress candidate from Jamalpur and Pravin Changawala are planning a trip to Ajmer Dargah shortly.
The likes of Vajubhai Vala and Ashok Bhatt spent time with the families, while woman candidates like Kashmira Nathwani and Purnima Mehta returned to enjoy time with their family and children, though Maya Kodnani like many other candidates moved around the constituency to thank her supporters.
(Inputs from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Kutch, Junagadh and Rajkot)