The writer is a former editor of the Mumbai-based English newspaper Mid Day and the Gujarati paper Divya Bhaskar. His book Translating Saadat Hasan Manto’s non-fiction work will be published this year
aakar.patel@tribune.com.pk
India’s most talented politician of our time has pulled off the most famous victory of our time. Only a year ago, Narendra Modi made his move to position himself at the head of the assault on the Congress. He wanted power, but this was towards an aim: to achieve historical greatness.
He had self-belief, immense capacity for work and an ability for organisation. But even he could not have imagined how surprisingly easy and how clearly unambiguous and convincing his win would be. He has shattered the Congress, the arithmetic of caste politics and the geographical restrictions of the BJP. How did he do this?
His strategy was simple and bold: to position the issue as a referendum on his performance and his intentions. This was bold because the easier thing to do would be to bleat about the performance of Manmohan Singh’s government. Modi chose instead to focus on a positive campaign around his delivery in a mid-sized state and the promise that he could make this national. He crafted the message in terms that were simple and easy to understand. Vote for me, he told us, and I will give you governance and growth. Only in passing did he say that these were things that had not been delivered by the UPA. And his claim went further. He said that Delhi had never seen the sort of thing he would bring. It was entirely new and it was already bearing fruit in his state. That the story in Gujarat does not quite match that claim is another thing and today is not for whining about that. It is to appreciate the skill and quality of his politics.
Modi’s campaign was positive in another way. He chose not to touch upon those aspects of Hindutva that he had in previous Gujarat elections. This widened his appeal enormously. His brushing aside of LK Advani and other BJP seniors a year ago happened not because of any wiliness or stratagems. It came because the entire cadre of the BJP and the RSS is behind him. That group Modi had no need to rally.
This gave him the space to focus on the expansion of his constituency through talking about governance and growth. This is what he went after in single-minded fashion. In doing this, he had to work with four teams: the BJP, the large online gang he assembled under volunteers and the entrepreneur Rajesh Jain, the RSS and the private PR organisations that ran Modi’s campaign. He did this with efficiency and with effectiveness. The Modi message of governance and growth was sold. Whether or not he can deliver on these, Modi has made good on one promise: a Congress-mukt Bharat. The party may yet survive but it has been given the thrashing of its life. It is gasping and has no time for assessment. It will be difficult for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, given their meagre numbers, to even effectively lead the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
If Mamata Banerjee and Jayalalitha form a front, they could easily bid for leader of the opposition, having more seats together than the Congress.
This fragmentation of his opponents will help Modi in getting his agenda cleared, at least in the Lok Sabha.
He is in the ideal, almost perfect situation. He has a majority of his own in the BJP (meaning allies cannot twist his arm as they did Manmohan Singh’s). And he has 50 seats from pre-poll allies in the National Democratic Alliance, so he can afford to alienate those elements in his party that he dislikes or is threatened by.
My view is that he has much freedom with his cabinet as PM, as he did as CM. This brings in a subject that is bitter but must be mentioned. In Gujarat, Modi has been petty with all whom he has disliked or been threatened by. This included his party (whose senior leaders he pushed out), his cabinet (whose ministers had little power), Gujarat’s media (some of which was charged with sedition) and even the RSS (whose senior man was humiliated in a tawdry scandal).
Modi is messianic and genuinely believes he can do transformational things for India. We shall see. But he must know that as prime minister, he will have to do more than replicate what he did in Gujarat. If he wants to be seen as great, he will have to be seen as magnanimous. He will have to be liked by those who distrust him for his record.
To be remembered in history with warmth. That is greatness.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 18th, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS (25)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1713272658-0/Copenhagen-fire-(1)1713272658-0-270x192.webp)
@amir
You are spot on with your observation. It is remarkable that the majority of the Indian brigade here comes with only two goals: one, to belittle Pakistan and Muslims and gloat about their own superior reasoning skills and factual content, something which is on ample display here also; two, to bend over backwards in trying to prove how innocent Modi is. In fact, to these Internet warriors, RSS, BJP, Bajrang Dal, VHP, Shiv Sena and others of their ilk are the most benign and decent parties in the arena, trying to bring about great changes in the Indian polity and society. Wow! To these warriors, turning black into white through sophistry is a cinch, and ignoring factual rebuttals of their absurd claims is the best strategy. A classic example is the rebuttal of their viscous claim about the change in percentage of Hindus in present-day Pakistan from Partition to the present time. No matter how many times you do it, they will continue with the propaganda. Another ironic aspect of their interaction on these pages is that many of them argue for ignoring Pakistan yet cannot help but spend a large part of their time commenting on a Pakistani site!
@LostCause: Cannot speak for pthers. I do not expect someone like Zaid to change their mind no matter how many facts or data are provided. Owever there are others who may read and if the records is not set straight, they may believe what he said.
Narendra Modi has done what seemed impossible a year ago. Now that his party has a majority in the Lok Sabha, it remains to be seen if he will be able to deliver what he has promised. India is a large country, where the government writ doesn’t exist in roughly half its territory. You have to remember that among the many things the BJP promised, forcing Bangladeshi Muslim migrants in Assam to go back to their home country is one. Another is the threat to Muslims to either acknowledge their Hindu ancestry (meaning, of course, that they should convert to Hinduism) or go to Pakistan. The BJP will definitely have to keep its cadres happy, and this can only be done by arranging communal clashes periodically. I sincerely hope this does not happen, but if Modi is not able to deliver on the economic front, he will be forced to watch Muslims being slaughtered again, as they were in 2002.
@gp65, abhi, ajay, DM and all others trying to illuminate Zahid: I often wonder to what end you toil, noble though the pursuit is in theory. How does it matter what Pakistanis think about India's elections, democracy, secularism etc. Isn't the effort better spent among readers and on fora that actually matter to India in a positive sense. One should of course know the dominant thought among neighbours, by all means, but engagement will bear any fruit only with the ones interested in constructive engagement. In case of the overwhelming majority of Pakistanis, I'm afraid the ship of reason seems to have sailed. In fact your effort has only the effect of further hardening the dominant narrative of 'paid agents of Hindutva propaganda' or some such. Its a lost cause really.
Before the smart ones jump on me for presuming Zahid's nationality, the form of his comment indicates he is capable of inquiry and reasoned thought, while the content indicates neither faculty has been put to any use, and thus my presumption as to his nationality.
@Toticalling An Italian ‘queen’. a Sikh PM. a Muslim FM is great!
But we want them do something for economy and progress, not just sit there and do scams after scams. They failed big time even though provided two full terms. We cannot keep electing them just to showcase secularism.
@amir: gp65 may have been one of the earliest supporters of Modi here on ET, but when has she not countered any allegation with anything other than facts and that too in a civil tone? To besmirch her by alluding to her as being part of a fictional hindutva online brigade is uncalled for.
The question is and never was that Modi would win.........it is the size of his win that is worth looking at, because it is genuine. With much power comes much responsibility and the fact that he is from humble origins bodes well.......in the coming months writers of blogs and opinion pieces would do well by concentrating on Indian mangoes and Madhuri Dixit for at least three months, giving sufficient time for a direction to be established by Modi ( note : I don't say BJP because that is how he sold himself )
@feroz not only that modi is from lower backward caste. He has the support of Dalits and others. A tea seller to PM indeed were governance was issue not religion.
Not everybody can create an opportunity to have a shot at greatness. Modi has performed superbly to place himself in a position to give greatness a shot. Whether the pressure of expectations lifts him to an even higher level of performance or the burden sinks him, is to be seen. If he can stick to a positive agenda that wins across the board support from all sections of society, he will succeed. If not he will face the boot from these same supporters after five years. The fact that an ordinary Tea seller from a very humble background in rural India has risen to the top has given hope to every Indian that there are no boundaries beyond reach. Can this galvanize all citizens to work harder and rise faster ?
@Toticalling: Modi's speeches are available on youtube. Please proide reference of one speech where he has aired hatred towards minorities. Don't provide a reference of a 3rd person saying Modi said xyz because there have been a lot of lies and distortion there.
@Amir: if you disagree with my facts or logic point it out. Making personal comments is not in good taste.
3 out the 5 op-eds today in ET are about Modi!
@Zahid
What you are saying is propaganda without any basis. All "secular" parties were targetting Modi on this point but clearly nobody gave a damn about it. Even in some places muslim voted for him beacuse of good governance. It is time to accept that the era of identity politics is over. Champian of secularism Mr Lalu couldn't get his daughter and wife eleceted, even though there was no polarization in Bihar like UP. People want performance not slogans. Stalwarts like Sharad Pawar struggled in their home constituency and his daughter could barely win. She won only because Pawar did develop his constituency unlike Lalu who did nothing through out his tenure.
Modi has made it. But one of the main reasons for his success is that Congress was inefficient and this MMSingh as PM and Mrs. Gandhi making decisions was not liked by majority. I Like congress because it is secular but that is not enough to vote for them. An Italian 'queen'. a Sikh PM. a Muslim FM is great, but majority of Indians want hindus to rule India and others playing less important roles, just like in an other country in this world. I agree Modi knows how to talk airing hate against minorities. I am sure he will change, but many of those who supported him are more nationalistic. They are going to be disappointed. It is sad that religion has taken front seat in India to such an extent, but Pakistanis have no right to point fingers at her. If it can be an Islamic Republic, why not let India follow suit. Another important point is that not only Congress, but all secular parties lost miserably. That is worrying
@gp65, you are an untiring member of hindutva online brigade and we in PK salute your efforts and urge you to take some time off with your family.
@ekampreet singh randhawa:
For a country which has a 12.6% Internet percentage usage and most of them rely on television which has every journalist make an issue out of everything Modi utters and even bring his wife into equation to show his lack of respect towards her....
Do you really think that was the reason Modi won ???
Even in places with low literacy and non Hindu population??? Just accept that the People want a change and Arvind Kejriwal proved to be an anarchist at best ,so they placed the bet on the best option available,
@Zahid Going by the nonsense garbage you have typed,Is your full name,by chance,be Zahid Hamid???? if so,I'm a big fan of you,sir
2014 election are repeat of 1937 election when Nehru ussed all the communal tricks to isolate muslims in UP. Which led muslims to call for help by inviting Jinnah back from London. RSS is doing what Nehru practiced to isolate Nuslim in 20s. This is the first time a RSS backed government has come in power, so they are not going to just sit there not go for the dream. Initially they will provide lip service to equal opprtubity, development schemes. Curruptions and right wing will dominant going forward. Idea is to create good times for 500mm which will be served by low price workers from low caste and muslims.
Goal 1. Destroy Congress which is already in emergey room. Goal 2. Work towards developing influence beyond current borders to Mayanar to afghanistan. If Pakistan is in the way just steam roll them in sunmission. Bangladesh is already a colony of India, then Nepal and Afghanistan and Mayanar. Modi will offer a deal to China to work together in Afghanistan to exploit resoutces and steer China into business level paretnership that will force Pakistran to kneel down. Modi will not do anything but keep Pakistan so busy with internal problems that Pak army will try to cut a deal with Inidn
@ekampreet singh randhawa: And is it your case that the poor Indians in villages of UP who voted overwhelmingly for him did so because of social media? Genius.
@Zahid, "Mr. Akaar, you know it, and I know it, that his role in Muslims massacre of 2002" Just knowing does not suffice his role. We have absolute faith in our judiciary system. He is clean as far as majority of Indians are concerned and the mandate is a proof of that.
@Zahid, Absolutely agreed with you. The propaganda on the internet was the DEFINING factor. Hindutva are EXTREMELY active online and completely suffocate any other opinion. Just look at videos on youtube regarding anything. The elections had a heavy heavy dose of this hindutva propaganda
@Zahid, M.: You are completely wrong. What got him votes is- a)his personality- decisiveness and being a self made man, a doer b) lack of any political party or leader at this time in India who can deliver on development, inflation & governance. c)his very demonstrative performance in Gujarat---there is a reason he remained chief minister for 3 consecutive terms there.
Even New York times noted that in a couple of speeches, Modi mentioned development 500 times and Hindutva only once ! People in India heard all the key things fro Modi that they wanted to hear.
Babri Masjid demolition is very very old story and absolutely played zero role in this election. In fact the old guard who were instrumental in that need to be removed. There is nothing wrong with Ram Mandir issue, only thing is that is way down the priority list at this time. The old guard made that the single issue at the cost of other issues. In addition, they don't understand demands of a modern India and lacked the right personality. For this reason- people like Murli Manohar Joshi, Jaswant, LK Advani, even Sushma Swaraj need to be removed. These people did not show performance in last BJP govt. causing rise of Congress party, thus causing tremendous harm to India.
Aakar to get the title of LOp a party (not an alliance needs a minimum of 55 seats in Lok Sabha. This is precisely why such a position was not filled in the first 3 Lok Sabhas as well as in 1984
@Zahid, M.: The Supreme court has after intense scrutiny concluded that he had no role in 2002 riots. He had already won from seats with high percentage of Muslim otes in Gujarat's last municipal elections. Muslims no longer fear him and Congress' fear mongering did not work. In fact many in UP voted for him. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bjp-and-narendra-modi-have-won-muslim-votes-too-clerics/articleshow/35251639.cms
If the 2002 riots were to benefit BJP, it would not have lost power in 2005 which were the first elections after the riots occurred.
Still better this blog compare to your others & you don't have any alternatives.and you can't make worst.
Mr. Akaar, you know it, and I know it, that his role in Muslims massacre of 2002, and Babari Mosque demolition played more role in getting him here than whatever the false hype of GG&G was created by the cyber-brigades of RSS+VHP+BJP's 'Hindutva' fanatics. As Napoleon once said "to get power, you need to display absolute pettiness", and Mr. Modi is a perfect example of such a person.