Vallata paani chhe (the waters are receding). As Gujarat gears up for seven Assembly by-polls next Thursday, this is the phrase being spoken and heard in the political corridors of Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad.

When the war within the BJP is the dominant theme in Delhi, the refrain in Gujarat is that the party’s brightest star Narendra Modi may just be losing a bit of his lustre.

Consider these:

n Unlike in the countdown to the Lok Sabha elections, when Modi publicly staked claim to at least 21 seats in his state — the BJP won 15 — no figure is being touted by him or by the Gujarat BJP on his behalf, even to boost the morale of party workers this time. With six of the seven seats headed to the hustings held by the Congress, the official BJP line is that it is a low-stakes election for the ruling party.

All indications are that Modi may not even campaign. “So far, it (Modi going to campaign) is not part of the design”, says state BJP president Purshottam Rupala. “In Assembly by-polls, it is generally left to the local leaders to ask for campaigners,” he says. Modi’s office declined several requests for an interview.

But the Opposition sees his low profile as low confidence. They recall his high-voltage campaign for a much smaller electoral test — the Ahmedabad municipal polls in 2005 — to win a corporation held by the Congress but seen to be ripe for the BJP’s picking.

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