In the ruling BJP circles, one story is a legend: that had it not been for LK Advani, Narendra Modi would not have been the Chief Minister of Gujarat — the political break to which he owes his spectacular electoral innings — first as CM, and then the prime minister of India.A brief spell of fraught ties between Advani and Modi apart, the guru and shishya (teacher and taught) have a lot to look back upon and share.No wonder PM Modi called on him on Wednesday as he marked the milestone of completing 25 years, first as the Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001 to 2014), and then as the Prime Minister of India (2014 till persent).Had it not been for Advani, Modi would not have taken oath as the CM of Gujarat on October 7, 2001. For, Modi was till then only a powerful general secretary and party strategist, though during the rule of then Gujarat CM Keshubhai Patel, Modi had acquired the reputation of a super CM, annoying many Gujarat unit stalwarts, mainly Shankersinh Waghela.Modi’s detractors managed to push him out of Gujarat at the time and Advani posted the former in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.Advani came to Modi’s aid more than once, and mostly as a reward for strategic successes Modi delivered for the BJP in Gujarat.So, when the Keshubhai Patel government faced trust deficit in the midst of drought, Kutch earthquake and other disasters, Advani positioned Modi as the successor, literally elevating a backroom organiser to the pedestal of politics.Earlier in 1991, it was Modi who advised Advani to contest the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha elections, a seat Vaghela used to represent.Before that, Modi had been widely credited for the historic win of BJP in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation elections in 1987.Later, when Advani launched his Ram Rath Yatra from Gujarat’s Somnath as part of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, Modi was its chief organiser in the state.The success of the yatra laid the ground for the BJP’s rise in Gujarat, with the party winning assembly polls with a two-third majority.Even in the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots, Advani stood by Modi even when the then PM Atal Behari Vajpayee reminded the Gujarat CM of raj dharma.It was later when Modi’s prime ministerial ambitions rose, that the two fell apart for some years, as internal power play in the BJP peaked.However, Modi, as PM, decided to confer India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna on Advani in 2024, capping years of their bonding—mostly as a mentor and a mentee.Today’s meeting fitted that context as PM Modi entered a new phase of electoral and public life.