Lok Sabha polls: Outsider in the south, Modi holds sway in the north

'Modi's stand on Pakistan will win more him votes in Jammu', says an ex-serviceman

“Tea romba nallaa irukku. Ithu DMK tea-aa illa ADMK tea-a?” (The tea is very good. Is it DMK tea or ADMK tea?) The answer that comes from the chaiwalla at Chennai railway station is not what you expect. Jeetendra Singh, a tea seller from Madhya Pradesh, shoots back in Hindi: “Mere desh ke neta kaisa ho, Narendra Modi jaisa ho.” 

It is a fitting prelude to the 2,799-km journey that you are about to take on board the Andaman Express that traverses the length of the country from Chennai to Jammu Tawi and goes through 11 states which account for