PM Modi's nominating Akhilesh will leave Mulayam worried

Prime Minister

on Saturday nominated Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister

along with eight other personalities from various walks of life to join the Clean India Drive, one of the most popular initiatives that his government has launched recently.

[Read: PM Narendra Modi nominates Akhilesh Yadav, Mohammad Kaif for Clean India drive]

This is a very well-calculated move by the prime minister for now, Akhilesh Yadav will be at his wits' end to find an answer. If he refuses, it will be a negative move in the public and if he accepts, it will create a stir in his party and particularly for his father who has recently made an effort to bring all anti-Modi forces under one umbrella.

But this is how the politician in Modi plays his game. Just look at the initiatives he has taken in the recent memory. Each of those steps have been made to baffle the opponent and they have paid off for there is nothing anybody can do if the strike is sweet-coated.

Snatching Vallabhbhai Patel from Congress's closet

Modi's first strike was targetted at the Congress when he announced his intention to build a massive iron statue of India's first home minister and Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and named it the Statue of Unity. It was a plan to dwarf Jawaharlal Nehru, both symbolically and psychologically, and in the process make a bold step towards the Congress-Mukt Bharat. The grand-old party, because of its historical baggage, could do little but silently witness Modi running away with one of its icons. It was no fight.

Stealing the AAP's broom

The Indian prime minister similarly took the wind out of the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) sails by borrowing the broom from the latter to launch his Swachch Bharat drive. Till then, the cleaning equipment was a symbolic weapon of Arvind Kejriwal's crusade against corruption. But now, Modi has made it a weapon to clear the entire nation of filth. A popular scheme and there is no way the AAP can accuse Modi of building his empire on the base that the AAP had prepared with a lot of hard work.

Same trick for Pakistan; PM Sharif was 'forced' to accept invitation

Modi applied the trick in the foreign policy realm as well. He invited Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his swearing-in ceremony on May 26 to show to the world that he was concerned about the peace process between the two neighbours from the word go. The Pakistani side was clearly stumped by the move and delayed in responding to the invitation, allowing India get a psychological victory. Sharif finally arrived for he had to save his face in the international community.

Now, the ball is in Akhilesh Yadav's court. The chief minister of UP will have to do a lot of balancing act to respond to PM Modi's invitation for a slight slip could put his father's united opposition to Modi in trouble.

Modi has benefitted from the strong attacks by the opponents, he has returned it softly

Modi is reaping benefits of the fact that his opponents have targetted him in a hard way far too much. Once he became the prime minister, Modi now has all the time in the world to pay it back to his opponents, most of whom are beleaguered at the moment, even without raising his voice.

The shrewd politician in him is doing just that by making moves that are bound to help his cause, at least in his earlier days in office. For his opponents, the decision to shut all doors on him has backfired. They perhaps forgot the eternal law in politics: There is no permanent friend of enemy in politics but only a permanent interest.