After four weeks or so, he rested his new bicycle somewhere in the sprawling bungalow, probably because he realised he couldn’t afford to slow down, especially when his Government was making promises at a frenetic pace from everything to withdrawing cases against farmers and tribals to waiving off interest and penalties to laying pipelines. The flurry of announcements has put the Congress in a difficult situation. While it can’t oppose the Government for lavishing its ‘largesse’ on people for obvious reasons, it also can’t afford to let the ruling party walk away with accolades for this generosity at the state’s expense. Last heard, the oldest national party was busy trying to get around the tricky situation by complaining to the Election Commission without offending the beneficiaries.

What is adding to the Congress worries is the Jan Ashirwad rally Chouhan started recently from Ujjain with the BJP’s prime ministerial aspirant L K Advani by his side. He is making announcements along the way, but before he set off on the yatra, the party had announced that he wouldn’t lay any foundation stone and that no Government official would accompany or receive him. The party says the promise was about laying foundation stones and as far as the presence of policemen is concerned, he is entitled to his security. The explanation is not helping the Congress’s cause but it can do little more than accuse the ruling party of misusing Government machinery.