New Delhi:
The man set to be the BJP's next prime ministerial candidate is under a legal cloud.
Narendra Modi will be investigated for his role in an alleged conspiracy to fan the violence in the 2002 Godhra riots.
This setback for Modi comes thanks to the fortitude of Zaikia Jafri, wife of a former MP who was burnt alive by a mob.
She has alleged that part of the conspiracy was making state officials give false testimonies to an inquiry commission.
Now, Modi and over 60 others will be investigated by the SIT headed by an ex-CBI chief R K Raghavan.
"After seven years it is clear that who all were involved. I am happy about what happened in SC. Things will be clear in a few days," Zakia said after the SC ruling.
But could a legal setback to Modi help him politically?
His party remains silent on the issue with BJP leader Arun Jaitley dismissing the issue. "It has become a tradition to raise Gujarat related issues," he said.
But some other politicians got a chance to gain political mileage.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said, "Modi caused the Godhra riots and it is him and other people of his kind who caused Malegaon too. These are all friends of Nitish Kumar."
Gujarat's 26 seats are set to vote in the next two weeks. Modi has shown in the past how he can turn a setback into a political advantage, but equally important could be the effect on the NDA outside Gujarat.