By Dinesh Akula

July 18, 2003, Friday, 10 PM - The warm water cascaded down my body, washing away the grime and fatigue from my long journey to Mahasamund. I was barely home when my brother knocked on the bathroom door, his voice urgent, informing me that someone was calling me to Ganj police station in Raipur.

Wrapped in a towel, water dripping from my hair, I returned the call. I learned that BJP leader Nand Kumar Sai was staging a dharna at the police station with a handful of supporters. Intrigued by the unusual situation and the absence of other media personnel, I hastily dressed and rushed to the scene.

The dimly lit police station appeared eerie that night, the tension palpable in the air. Mr Sai, usually an imposing figure, seemed unusually distressed. In hushed tones, he confided that his daughter, Priyam Sai, was missing, and he believed the then Chief Minister Ajit Jogi was responsible for her alleged kidnapping.

As a reporter for Star News (now ABP News), I knew the timing of this story was crucial. The national executive meet was underway in Raipur, and top leaders including Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Kishen Advani were in attendance. I was competing for scoops with top media personalities such as Ravish Kumar, Nalin Mehta, Sanjeev Singh, Pankaj Jhan, Deepak Chaurasia, Arnab Goswami, and Pallavi Ghosh.

I phoned the Chief Minister's residence to get Mr Jogi's version of the story, but they said they would update me the following day. As I hung up, I implored Mr Sai not to speak to anyone else, hoping to secure the exclusive. He eventually left the police station, leaving me to ponder the gravity of his allegations.

The next morning, July 19th, at 6 AM, we broke the news on television. Headlines blared about the mysterious disappearance of Sai's daughter, and I anxiously awaited a response from the Chief Minister's residence. However, Deepak Chaurasia scooped me by securing an interview with Priyam Sai, which aired on Aaj Tak. My office was furious, leaving me to scramble for a way to recover the story.

In desperation, I contacted my sources in the CM camp and managed to speak with Amit Jogi, Ajit Jogi's son. He assured me that as a friend, I would not be disappointed. True to his word, I soon received a call instructing me to meet a mysterious contact outside the Congress office at Gandhi Chowk, near Rang Mandir.

There, I was handed a pre-recorded interview with Priyam Sai. In the video, she confessed that she had left her father and the BJP of her own accord, unhappy with their politics. She and her husband, Iswar Sai, had joined the Congress willingly. Amit Jogi called me afterwards, dismissing the allegations as baseless and offering to send a more elaborate interview if needed.

The ramifications of the incident were far-reaching. Nand Kumar Sai, once the tribal face and a potential Chief Minister candidate for the BJP, suffered a severe blow to his career prospects. The party had been counting on him, especially after the downfall of Dilip Singh Judeo. But the scandal, unfolding in the presence of then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, forced the BJP to distance themselves from Sai.

As Nand Kumar Sai's political star dimmed, another rose to prominence: Raman Singh. He would go on to become the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, serving an impressive three consecutive terms. It seemed as though fate had intervened, altering the course of Chhattisgarh's political landscape.

Years have passed since that fateful night, and today, memories of the incident resurface as I learn that Nand Kumar Sai has joined the Congress, leaving the BJP behind. A sense of melancholy washes over me as I reflect on the impact of that night, the twists and turns of political fortunes, and the role I played in it all.

The Night of the Dharna, an event that altered the course of history in Chhattisgarh, will remain forever etched in my memory – a reminder of the unpredictability of politics and the power of the stories we choose to tell.