People of Achhala village have been keeping track of the visitors as well as non-visitors. On Friday, former chief minister and Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) founder Keshubhai Patel arrived in Tejgagh, the larger village just two km away, and people took notice.

“Keshubapa’s helicopter has come,” they told each other. Not Keshubapa,but his helicopter. Soon, Gopsinh Rathwa, who teaches at a non-formal
residential school for dropouts, decided to take the tribal children “to see the helicopter”, which drew more crowds than the veteran
leader’s rally itself.

Later, when I asked an elderly woman what was the big event in the village that day, she said, “A helicopter had come. My daughter took
her children to see it.” She didn’t know whose rally it was, though.

Flying machines inspire awe and wonder. Last Sunday, as chief minister Narendra Modi arrived for his rally at Pavi-Jetpur in the nighbouring
Taluka, even the local MP who was holding forth from the stage could not help but exclaim, “As you can hear, Modi-saheb’s helicopter has
come”-–not Modi-saheb, but his helicopter-–while people clapped and whistled.

The other fascination would be film-stars and former cricketers-–but they are no longer mere crowd-pullers, many of them are with parties.
In central Gujarat BJP fielded Hema Malini and Paresh Raval while the Congress had Ravina Tandon. In Achhala, somebody spoke of a Gujarati
film heroine, Roma Manek, addressing a rally in a nearby region, but they didn’t know where and for which party.

After calling Patel an anti-national, BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu has been noticed even in Achhala (he did not campaign in central Gujarat),
but Gopsingh had no idea who he was. “I saw that Swami Viekanand-wala on TV,” Gopsinh told me. I was puzzled, wondering if some leader from
Ramkrishna Mission had joined the BJP campaign. Later, when the name was fixed, Gopsinh explained that his turban made him think of some
connection with the great spiritual leader.

Meanwhile, Kanaiyalal Rathwa in Acchala noted Modi has come to the neighbouring constituency, Patel to this one, but Congress leaders of
the state or the centre have not come to this region so far. He also noted that within the village, only Congress candidate Mohansinh
Rathwa and JD-U’s Arjun Rathwa had campaigned, BJP’s Gulsinh Rathwa sent his lieutenants, and GPP’s Shankar Rathwa did not come.
As the election campaign ends, posters and banners of all four major candidates have come up on the walls of Achhala huts. People are now
talking incessantly of the polls. Kanaiyal, the resident psephologist of Achhala, had promised me I would see “action” even if that seemed
impossible then in the village.

He had also promised that he’d tell me whose horse is ahead in the race. “Three-four days before the elections, things become clear. I
will tell you then who will win.” Now (Thursday, December 14) he refuses to place his bets.For the whole Gujarat in general and also for Achhala, he says, “This time, it is not a jorawar (powerful, big-time) election. This time (winning) leads will be marginal.”

Nobody would say so in as many words yet (and a crucial part of the campaign will happen only the Sunday night!) but putting together what
people say: if it’s the candidate people will vote for, Mohansinh Rathwa of the Congress is ahead; if it is the party machine that
works, count on BJP.