But, this is an excuse because as soon as the Election Commission's notice stopped him from using Sohrabuddin encounter, Modi shifted to Afzal Guru, who was sentenced to death in the Parliament attack case.
Modi has three advantages.
He has the charisma reminiscent of Rajesh Khanna of the Aradhana and Andaz days. "It's pure theatre. He is a versatile performer," says Tarak Mehta, distinguished humour writer and playwright.
Modi connects to people on the national issues with funny phrases and spicy local dialect.
The Congress has given the lame excuse that as per tradition its elected representatives will select the chief minister if they win a majority. The Congress didn't project their chief ministerial candidate and that became a huge advantage for Modi.
In the television era, when personality is more important than issues, such a move by the Congress was unwise and costly. The Congress party may be in with a chance to make a fight of it, but it has made a strategic blunder in an age when 'fact is fiction, TV is reality' -- to quote a song by the rock band U2 horribly out of context.
Not presenting a chief ministerial candidate for the cameras gave Modi an opportunity, which he promptly grabbed.
