Sources close to Advani: the face

When a mechanical engineer opts for marketing, hones his skills to make his pile, then romances right wing ideology to kick it all up and re...

When a mechanical engineer opts for marketing, hones his skills to make his pile, then romances right wing ideology to kick it all up and remain by the side of one of the most watched faces, you can be sure a heady potion is brewing. For someone who now seems to have a mesmeric hold and is called the eyes and ears of the second most powerful man in the country, Deepak Chopra has come a long way.

PS to Lal Krishna Advani, 56-year-old Chopra may not have an IAS tag to flaunt but in the corridors of power he is acknowledged as the one man who enjoys complete trust of the Deputy Prime Minister. There’s no way you can get anywhere near Advani without Chopra being in the know. Politicians, journalists, even officials, doing the rounds of the Home Ministry-cum-DPMO find it exasperating at times, unable to get past Chopra. Thus far, no further, that’s the case most times. Such is the wall that correspondents often end up reporting ‘‘sources close to Advani.’’

From the time he quit Macneill and Magor as GM (Marketing) in 1991 — he had taken time off from work earlier to be with Advani during the 1989 elections and the Rath Yatra a year later — Chopra has been his shadow which also explains the clout he wields today. On June 29, when Rashtrapati Bhawan faxed a message confirming Advani’s elevation as DPM, many called to congratulate Chopra, aware that more power had just been injected.

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When he is not screening requests for meetings and interviews, he is busy with a palm-top or peering at the PC, running through the list of appointments with Advani. You won’t find a single scrap of paper on his table, all sheets consigned to the shredder behind his chair. At meetings, he can be spotted in a corner, taking notes while Advani discusses matters. At other times, when he is waiting for the minister, he will be puffing away or chewing Paan Parag.

There is the buzz though that Chopra may just have to share some of his responsibility — and power — with Ajay Prasad, recently named as OSD with the Deputy PM. From the Himachal cadre of the 1969 IAS batch, Prasad’s association with Advani is older than Chopra’s.

Prasad was PS to Advani when the latter was Minister for I&B in the Janata government in 1977. An Additional Secretary in the MoD, he will be back with Advani after 25 years.