Sirens wailing, a convoy of at least 18 cars of all shapes and sizes
screeched into the portico at the Taj Bengal. Commando forces fanned out, automoatic weapons on the ready, sealing off the door as Sharad Pawar, with Farooq Abdullah, who enjoys Z+ security, by his side. Soon after, just as Pawar stepped into the hotel the media swooped. If you cut a flank of raw beef and threw it into a tank of starving piranhas the feeding frenzy that would ensue would pale in comparison to the television channels' hunger for a quick quote. Questions flew thick and fast, in many languages, but Pawar barely whispered in answer and, before you know it, was escorted away.

About fifteen minutes earlier, the first party had already arrived, in
quieter but no less strident fashion - IS Bindra and Lalit Modi stepped out of a shiny new Mercedes Benz, dressed in sharp suits, showing no signs of being worse for wear after the pre-election party that apparently rocked their hotel on Monday night.