THE EX-COP WHO LEADS BJP'S CHARGE

Never after Narendra Modi has the Gujarat BJP had a political personality of any significance.

- Kiran D. Tare

And frankly, it has never needed one. The sight of a Gujarati saffron icon ensconsed in India's top job has sufficed to confer an endless gift on the state unit. But in a year when the BJP will seek to stamp its dominance on the Gujarat assembly like never before, it needs a micro-manager cut of the same cloth as Modi-even if tailored to a lesser calling. And it has one in state BJP president C.R. Patil. He has become the last word on anything to do with the state unit. The every mention of 'CR' is considered a go-ahead for any decision. As the party gears up to ensure its uninterrupted run in power since 1999 is only further entrenched after assembly polls in December, a lot hinges on the 67-year-old former policeman's organisational skills.