Gujarat BJP chief C.R. Paatil filed his nomination on his second attempt this week. On Day 1 he missed the auspicious vijay muhurat as too many enthusiastic supporters thronged his way.

Paatil is an MP from Navsari and in 2019, won with a margin of 6.89 lakh votes, the highest that year. Politicians have their reasons for doing things. Nitin Gadkari, the BJP candidate from Nagpur, released his own manifesto or vachannama, while the Prime Minister dialled Giu village in Himachal’s Spiti just this week after the area was connected to the mobile network for the first time.

So far, villagers have had to travel 8km before they could get a connection. The Congress-ruled Himachal goes to polls in the last phase. It’s not just leaders who are piling on the loving. National broadcaster Doordarshan’s logo recently turned saffron. The social media post with the glowering logo announced: “...Get ready for a news journey like never before. Experience the all-new DD news.”