Prime Mover Of
Development
India has long managed to avoid a reality check via a combination
of high minded rhetoric belied and betrayed by the sordid facts. It could be
film noir but it is not. Sometimes, a passionate tide, a surge of the popular
will, does rent this fabric to let a little of the light.
A true grass- roots leader has for once been anointed to the
pole position by a national party of India. A national party, of which there
are, in India, just two- amongst a large and rambunctious number of regional
ones.
There would perhaps have been just one, like in a banana
republic, with a patent belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family.
If it weren’t for the realpolitik
of Lal Krishna Advani in his prime, the BJP would only be a fringe player today.
Therefore, the patriarch in his petulance still deserves to be treated with
dignity for all that he has done and created.
Meanwhile, this, as
Congress Minister Kapil Sibal puts it: “Early Diwali”, has come about, like the
rise of Barack Obama in the US, in the midst of unprecedented economic,
security and credibility crises.
Narendra Modi said it himself, when accepting his anointment
on Friday 13th September, just days before his own birthday on the
17th. Incidentally, Mr.
Vajpayee, the only BJP prime minister to date, considered 13 as his lucky
number.
Modi said, in his little acceptance speech, that he had come
from very humble origins and was honoured to take on such a huge responsibility
on behalf of the BJP. He seemed to be a little awed . And he said, with great intensity,
that he would do his utmost to win for the BJP.
Meanwhile, across the aisle, the callow young man of
privilege must be ruing his fated place in the sun in the face of such a
formidable challenger.
There is, to draw the lines, the BJP, a national party,
turned into one by statesman Atal Bihari Vajpayee and key strategist LK Advani.
And which, in selecting Narendra Modi as its prime
ministerial candidate, in a US presidential style move, has offered the nation
a clear- cut option of hope.
In economic terms, the emergence of Narendra Modi from the
pulls and tugs of the democratic processes in the BJP, is being hailed as a sunrise development by
big business.
The international diplomatic community has been taking stock
of the rise and rise Modi for quite some time now. And they, ever practical, seem
to welcome it.
Modi not only has a
good and consistent track record on economic matters, but is an able
administrator, and is also an accomplished politician. He is without taint
of personal corruption despite having attracted, to Gujarat, most of the top
business houses operating in India.
For a man of
grass-root strengths, Modi routinely uses modern technology, as his 3D
holograph campaign demonstrated in Gujarat.
In Indian terms, this lack of corruption and family or
friends as hangers-on, is a rarity; almost baffling, given that he is on his 4th
consecutive term as chief minister of his state.
And there seem to be none of the scam- a- day revelations
that emanate from the central government and its allies, either with regard to
his political colleagues, or his
Gandhinagar controlled officialdom.
India has always been led down by bad governance, including
chicanery, pomposity, policy paralysis and populism, all in place of
development. Perhaps this will change appreciably under Narendra Modi. Of course, having passed muster
within the BJP, Modi must now win over the people to be able to form the next government.
Modi has also got a good standing with the rebels and
oustees, such as Yeddurappa and Raj Thackeray, who may come back into the fold
under his leadership, thereby vastly improving BJP’s chances of winning back
Karnataka and Maharashtra.
That both the Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena and the
father-son duo of Badal led Shiromani Akali Dal have swiftly backed his candidature, is also a most
welcome thing.
Mr. Modi, in election mode, must do everything in his power
to woo the Muslim vote, even as he needs to stick to a development agenda over
the entrenched Hindutva issues.
The RSS, not always pleased with Modi’s independent streak,
have nevertheless backed him strongly to this point. A more pragmatic RSS and
broader Sangh Parivar seems to understand that winnability must take precedence
over ideology for now.
Modi needs to challenge the unfair perception of being called a polarising figure.
Development does not polarise or alienate at all if applied evenly, and many
Muslims in Gujarat state acknowledge this by voting for him.
As NaMo himself
points out, he gets 25% of the Muslim vote in Gujarat, and sees no reason to
not do likewise nationally. And , combined with his core youth constituency,
this support can blunt the criticism of
the ruling combine, and take the sting out of their barbs.
Meanwhile, the election agenda is a presidential Modi in the
BJP corner, supported by his early birds in chorus. And in the other, the
Congress Party, very uncomfortable for being well and truly challenged.
As for our economy, just electing Modi is going to be
therapeutic, and the India Story could well be back with a bang.
(877 words)
September 14th
, 2013
Gautam Mukherjee
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