On the morning of May 16, 2014, when counting of votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections was on, Narendra Modi was alone in his room meditating with no television on and took telephone calls only after 12 noon.
This and several other titbits about Modi, his life - both personal and political - and the poll campaign find mention in a new book The Modi Effect: Inside Narendra Modi’s Campaign to Transform India by Lance Price, former media advisor to the then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Published in India by Hachette, the book also quoted the PM dismissing Aam Aadmi Party chief and current Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who contested against him from Varanasi, as “nothing but a small single city leader”.
He was getting far more coverage than he deserved as compared to other more established opposition party leaders. So why spend time even ignoring someone?
This specific interview was taken before the Delhi Elections in 2015.