I reach Silver Oak in South Mumbai at 4pm, half an hour before my scheduled appointment with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar. The prospect of spending the rest of the day with him, to travel with him to his election rally in the neighbouring district makes me nervous and excited at the same time. 

As I write my name on a small chit, which will be handed over to ‘Saheb’, I see a group of people waiting for their turn. 
“Do ordinary people get such easy access to any other leader here? Can anyone go to Matoshree to meet Uddhav Thackeray, without prior appointment,” says one of the staffers.