So at www.gopinathmunde.com when you have a smiling Munde exhorting everyone ``to make a humble beginning,'' there are no doubts that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) projected candidate for the chief minister's post is going all out to woo the electorate. But being techno-savvy is just part of the big game. So is the `humble' statement that ``brickbats and bouquets'' are both welcome as well as the invitation to e-mail him or join him for a chat.

Shiv Sainiks, who weren't too pleased with the BJP ads projecting Munde as ``the leader of Maharashtra'', have little reason to be happy. Munde's site is more about the man and his party. And it comes at a time when his fight is pitted againstnone other than Sena chief Bal Thackeray himself.

But the deputy CM has also been careful to credit the alliance for the so-called `achievements' mentioned in his site. In fact, when Munde takes personal credit, it is for the fact that he was among the BJP leaders who ``drew out a strategy to form an alliance with the Sena for taking on the Congress in the 1995 Assembly elections.''

But the message is clear. When he talks about ``IT Vision'' and the state government's MoU with WorldTel, there is also a photograph of Munde, holding a copy of `Vision 2000'. And he doesn't mince words about his `achievements' as Opposition leader in state Assembly -- ``... I drew attention to the criminalisation of politics..'' And of course, he handled two very important portfolios -- Energy and Home -- he reminds, lest you forget.

Though critics have a lot to say, Munde claims the city has been peaceful, that ISI activities have been curbed, that dreaded gangs have been taken head-on... There is also a lowdown on theinfamous Enron deal, where Munde prides himself for the re-negotiated contract with Enron, while also calling it the most ``difficult'' issue he had to tackle. So what if the BJP's initial demand had been that the agreement should be scrapped, Munde now tells you why the project should be.

And for added effect, there is Munde, the family man, complete with a picture of his family. There is the deputy chief minister bemoaning the less time he has had to spend with wife and daughters after he took up the job. And among other things, a mention about his youngest daughter `revolting' against his not spending enough time with them.

Finally, when Munde dreams about a Maharashtra ``where there are no barriers of caste of creed'', he dreams king-size; perhaps a sign of things to come. In a section dubbed `The Future', Munde talks about Maharashtra hereafter, about harnessing IT, the need to develop power, telecommunication network, agro-processing... When he signs off, it is clear that it is not just anotherpolitician talking, but a candidate aiming for the top job.