NEW DELHI: It was a hot April day. A huge crowd of BJP workers and supporters had gathered outside the election office of Arun Jaitley in Amritsar . As we made our way inside, a familiar voice and a trademark broad smile greeted us.

The party had nominated Jaitley to contest the 2014 general elections from this prestigious seat. Pitted against him was Congress strongman Amarinder Singh .

Soon after, we stepped out with him for his election meetings across the holy town. The April heat was oppressive but Jaitley remained his calm self, interacting with voters in chaste Punjabi. The battle for Amritsar was tough but Jaitley seemed to revel in the hurly burly of a Lok Sabha election duel. Against the backdrop of a Modi wave, Jaitley was up against a formidable candidate and the anger against the Akalis among voters.

At the end of the day, while we were about to return to our hotel, he told us to wait for a while. Soon he emerged from his office and sat down with us. He then spent the next 15 minutes or so advising us where we should have our dinner and breakfast. He seemed to know the best eateries in town.

The next day, we hopped on to his SUV for his meetings in the rural areas of Amritsar. Village after village greeted him with affection as he mingled with the crowd conversing in fluent Punjabi. He raised issues of policy paralysis and the need for change in Delhi.

Throughout the journey we were treated to the choicest snacks — at one point we had to say no to his generous offers.

On our way back, he pointed to huge tracts of land and revealed his plans to bring in investment in and around Amritsar — new factories, warehouses and cold chains. That was a time when there was optimism about India-Pakistan trade being opened up. Jaitley was the frontrunner for the finance minister’s post.

The election results were soon out. Even as BJP swept to power, Jaitley lost. But the gentleman-politician had won hearts in Amritsar.

