IT was the peak of campaign for the 2004 general election in Vadodara. A gung-ho "India Shining" BJP presented quite a contrast with a brooding Vajpayee. A directionless Congress was behaving as a reluctant participant having mentally conceded the poll. Senior reporters were busy in covering more important events of the campaign – the trails and the Vajpayee-Sonia rallies. Cubs like me would do smaller side stories like press conferences and the stuff. One fine day, the chief reporter gave an assignment. Please go and meet Manmohan Singh. He would meet select journalists at Welcomgroup Hotel. It was my first assignment to cover a national leader. I sauntered excited to find only one more reporter - the PTI stringer waiting in the lobby.
Moments later a Congress Seva Dal attendant ushered us into a suite. At the centre of the room just around the sofa stood our subject. In a fawning white Kurta and his trademark blue turban Sardar Manmohan Singh greeted the duo with a submissive Namskar both hands folded. Even a city neta's casual confidence was yet to arrive in the man.
Singh had the demeanor of a candidate out for his first interview. The PTI man shot off a question on what would be priorities of Congress if it came to power. I perhaps asked him what he thought of country's present economic situation given he was an Economist himself. That was rather patronising. The answers are difficult to recall now, but I do remember that we both had to strain ourselves really hard to get a word of what MMS spoke. Unassuming to the extent of being self effacing, one came out unimpressed from the meeting. Understandably, only one newspaper and one agency thought of covering him, dismissed in two columns next day. And not even a Municipal level Congress leader was present to escort someone who would be India's Prime Minister a fortnight later!
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