Rahul, Kejriwal set up endgame: Modi has to fight on 3 fronts

Elections 2014 are truly turning out to be a Kurukshetra, with the principal characters fighting epic battles across the field in a no-holds-barred, no-quarter-given, all-or-nothing fight to the finish. But in one sense it is even more riveting that Kurukshetra. There is only one principal character fighting all the major battles: Narendra Modi. Whether you cast him as hero or villain, he has to fight an all fronts.

BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi. PTI

Nothing exemplifies this more than the way the final endgame is being set up by all the parties opposed to Modi. Even as the BJP was blindsided by its internal battles in Delhi, Modi's opponents have devised a common battleplan that needed almost no formal conspiracy: a three-pronged direct assault on Modi, with Rahul Gandhi moving the last piece on Tuesday to check the King.

The pieces fell into place almost like clockwork: as the BJP announced its decision to field Modi in Varanasi, the opposition first moved Mulayam Singh to nearby Azamgarh to shore up its flanks. On Tuesday, we saw the noisy entry of Arvind Kejriwal into Varanasi to put Modi in his corner; the Congress quietly removed Narendra Rawat in Vadodara - the entire primary having been reduced to a sham - and put up Madhusudan Mistry, the Rahul confidant with the best understanding of Gujarat, to do battle with Modi in his second constituency.

This is simply brilliant coordinated strategy by Modi's mortal enemies. While Mulayam Singh is intended to check Modi's ambitions in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Kejriwal can be counted upon to keep Modi tied down in Varanasi, and Mistry will force Modi to personally campaign in Vadodara for a while. It is now more than likely that neither Congress nor SP will field a strong candidate in Varanasi. It will be Kerjriwal versus Modi.

While it is unlikely that either Kejriwal or Mistry will topple Modi, the real purpose of these moves should be clear. They will tie Modi down in his own constituencies for a while when he needs to be campaigning for his parties and allies all over in 175 constituencies in 50 days. Not only that, having opened a front by packing off oldies like Jaswant Singh and Harin Pathak, Modi will also have a fourth front to handle within the BJP.

This is not unlike Gujarat 2012, where Modi took on all his enemies single-handed - and won. The difference this time is he will be seeking to do the same all over the country, in uncharted territory, against all combatants.

It's Kurukshetra with a difference. In the Mahabharata, we had two principal heroes: while Arjuna finishes off the main rivals, Bhima polishes off the main enemy Duryodhana. This time Bhima, with his Chappan-ki-chati, will have to do Arjuna's job too - though Modi's opponents have cast him in the role or Duryodhana, not Bhima.

It's Gulliver in Lilliput really. It's Modi versus the rest. The endgame is now truly unpredictable.