Mum's the word from Sanjay Joshi

NAGPUR: His silence has confounded his critics as well supporters. For the second consecutive day, Sanjay Joshi, the controversial RSS man hounded out by Narendra Modi and spurned by the BJP, managed to dodge the media with the ease an attacking footballer. He has been in the city for two days now.
Repeated attempts to break the silence have failed. Reporters and photographers chased him from the minute he landed in the city on Monday.He first evaded every one at the railway station and then at his residence in Trimurti Nagar where he reached to meet his parents.
Late in the evening, Joshi was present at the RSS annual camp's valedictory function at Reshimbagh and sat through it lending an ear to Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's speech. But, at the end of the event when reporters pounced on him, he disarmed them with a smile and a promise to meet later.
On Tuesday, since early morning Joshi was reportedly out of town visiting the district, according to sources close to him. He returned in the afternoon and called on ageing RSS ideologue and mentor MG Vaidya. Later, he also visited some colleagues and old friends. His phone was constantly ringing but apparently he knew well which calls to answer, the media were certainly not among them. Colleagues and friends he met during the day also firmly refused to disclose what transpired between them.
A full-time RSS man, Joshi had always preferred to be attached to the BJP since the 80s when he actively worked to organize the party in the city. Sources say he was close to getting party ticket to contest as a MLA from the city.
But apparently his Brahmin roots proved to be an electoral hurdle and the ticket went to Vinod Gudadhe-Patil who won the seat and later rose to be a minister of state in the BJP-Sena government in the state in the 90s. Much before, Joshi shifted to Gujarat to work for the party. Along with Narendra Modi and Manmohan Vaidya of the RSS, he worked as a team and rose in party and RSS hierarchy.
However, by 2000 the troika fell apart and Joshi shifted to Delhi to work as BJP general secretary. Joshi was never a public figure but working behind curtains he has made a name as an excellent organization man. Then the sleaze CD sting stuck him and he fell out of favour of the party.
After old friend Nitin Gadkari became BJP president attempts to rehabilitate him began. He was given responsibility of UP before the state election there though Modi vehemently opposed it.
Now that the RSS is firmly behind Modi in the recent power churn in the BJP, all doors are shut in the party for Joshi. A reluctant Joshi had to fall in line and give up all BJP responsibilities. Gadkari has also backed out and is keeping a distance from Joshi so as not to ruffle the RSS feathers.
Will Joshi take it lying down and fall in line to accept RSS work is not most of close friends here are ready to believe. They are sure that as a committed pracharak, he would not be seen as working against Modi and risk being depicted as a villain if the latter fails to win state elections in Gujarat later this year.