In meeting after meeting across the state -- he's addressed 20 over the last couple of days -- he speaks simply to the people. He used to know them well, he is a son of the people. Only this time, he's the outsider; the man people are upset with.

Let down by longtime colleagues Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Home Minister L K Advani, who together couldn't stall the negatives streaming out of their rule in Delhi, Shekhawat is left with the ``I, me'' routine. ``I am fighting the Congress. But which Congress? There are the official Congress candidates and the unofficial ones. How can you choose? I am the one to lead Rajasthan to its glory,'' he tells people.

In this last battle, he is left with himself. And to add insult to injury, an RSS member is contestingagainst him in Bali, thus pinning the veteran down in his own constituency on this last crucial day of campaigning. Way back in 1977, when he first became Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Shekhawat could hardly have dreamt of the finish he is now staring at. By now he has held the top state post thrice and the political insomnia forced on him by the BJP's misdeeds is wearing him down.

His last and only device: Show up the Congress as a greedy outfit which will balk at nothing and ruin the State. With little else to go with, Shekhawat speaks indistinctly. He is tall, with a high forehead and shrewd eyes. He is waiting for help and it isn't coming.

Years of being the undisputed leader have left their toll. The BJP has no second-rung leadership worth its name and when Shekhawat leaves, the gloves are expected to be off in the State unit. For Shekhawat, the personal erosion is a tragedy greater than the loss of power.

``He was the lion of Rajasthan,'' idolises Bhanwar Singh, a fulltime RSS activist. But thelion has spent too much time fighting his opponents. Once Shekhawat was almost made BJP president, a post which finally went to Kushabhau Thakre. ``Too much was left on his shoulders. Instead of development, he had to fight rivals within and without the BJP,'' says Sher Singh Shekhawat, who runs a property dealers network here.

Now, the three-time Chief Minister is taking the closed-door path. Propping up rebel Congressmen in the hope of repeating 1993 when he formed a government with the help of Independents. ``Elections cannot be a matter for Bhairon Singh alone. The burden is too great and he will not be able to manage it,'' reflects Jit Ram Choudhry, a local timber merchant. At the fag end of a successful career, a stint as the leader of a truncated Opposition is an avoidable downturn, Choudhry adds.

Shekhawat has had no peace for many weeks now, sleeping barely four hours a day. In the coming weeks, he could have plenty.