The "Rise" of a Political Superstar - Narendra Modi

“Either you love me or you hate me but you simply can’t ignore me”, this is Narendra Modi for you. Last two decades have witnessed a rise of a political superpower of India in term of Narendra Modi who often is credited as political “Superstar” within the political spectrum. Even a tenacious resistance by his critics hasn't led to any sort of hindrance to his plans to move towards 7RCR, Delhi. And with an official announcement of him as NDA’s Prime ministerial candidate by BJP Party president on 13^th of Sep has ended all speculations on his plans for 2014 elections. Seeing the personality cult of Modi it seems like in 2014 it won’t be BJP vs Congress but rather it would be Modi vs Congress. From social media to youth following he is far ahead from any other leader in India at present. The whole Industrial fraternity openly backs him and he is the front page news of every newspaper today. But what all led to the sudden rise of fortunes of Narendra Modi?

From a simple RSS worker to being named Gujarat’s CM in 2001 replacing Keshubhai Patel, he came a long way in his political journey where he saw many ups and downs. But it actually was 2002 where he hogged the limelight post Godhra riots. Political analysts usually term the innings of Modi in two versions – Modi version 1.0 pre Godhra and Version 2.0 post Godhra. He became RSS’s favorite man to carry their ideology when he came back to power with whopping 2/3^rd majority in 2003 Gujarat’s assembly elections. In 2004 NDA lost the national elections and BJP’s strongman Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared to end his political career citing ill health and then L.K Advani was passed the baton to lead the BJP. In 2005 when he went to Pakistan, he praised Jinnah in order to make BJP’s acceptability to minority communities, which even backfired him and he had to resign from his party president post and the cracks within RSS and Advani were quite visible. At the same time Modi had established himself as an able administrator and a person with zero tolerance towards corruption and terrorism (with a series of encounters) and his 2007 win in elections strengthened his position further. In 2009, before the national elections many people within NDA argued that Modi might be the best PM choice but RSS backed Advani and NDA lost in 2009 as well which was their second successive defeat. With the defeat of 2009 the stars of Advani started fading and the cult of Modi was on rise. Modi further cemented his position within NDA after a hat-trick of win in Gujarat in Dec 2012 and his Prime ministerial ambitions got a boost with his declaration of NDA’s face for 2014. The credit to “Rise of Modi” somehow goes to the ruling congress party as well. It was their impotency to take upon corrupt system, series of scandals, mishandling of economy and incompetence that led to a demand of strong political face that could take some harsh decisions and take India back to the path of economic development and prosperity. It is a strong Anti congress vibe which is further enhancing the prospects of Narendra Modi in 2014.   

As for Modi haters, he has eclipsed the man who once strongly backed him post Godhra when Vajpayee wasn’t keen to support him. But it only shows their frustration simply because they were not able to topple him and they were thinking of firing their guns through Advani’s shoulders. For pseudo secular forces like Nitish Kumar, Advani has now become secular leader. Hope we need not remind them that it was Advani who led the Hindutva agenda post 1991. As for Modi followers and lovers this is the time to cheer since their leader has been cleared to take as a face of next assembly elections. But he has numerous challenges to take on before 2014 general elections.

Though it needs to be seen what happens in 2014 elections and whether Modi's slogans "Sabka saath sabka vikas" and "India first" make a pan India appeal but it seems to be cracker of contest between Modi and Congress. Upcoming days promise of some big surprises and fireworks from both sides .Even a drastic change in political scenario is on the cards but we hope that people of this country get the best out of it.

Jai hind !!        

Mr. Manohar Parikkar full interview to NYT

Pollsters and analysts have been talking about the increasing chances of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.) emerging as the single largest party in India’s 2014 national elections, but falling short of the total number of parliamentary seats needed to form a government.

The B.J.P.’s de-facto prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is controversial and unacceptable to many of India’s regional parties, whose support will be crucial to the B.J.P. in forming the next government. Even within the B.J.P. several leaders have been harboring the ambition to replace Mr. Modi as the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Among them is Manohar Parrikar, the B.J.P. chief minister of the coastal state of Goa.

Mr. Parrikar is an affable face of the Hindu right and leader of India’s most prosperous state by per capita income, which is also home to an influential Catholic minority and their distinct history. Mr. Parrikar has vocally supported Mr. Modi but also describes the 2002 Gujarat riots as the “blot on Modi’s career.”

The 57-year old Mr. Parrikar is a graduate of the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology and has impressed middle-class Indians by taking economy-class flights, by hailing a taxi himself at the airport, and with clean governance in his state, when political excess and corruption are commonplace.

Mr. Parrikar recently spoke to India Ink in Panjim, the state capital of Goa.

Q.

Are you a potential prime minister candidate for the B.J.P. if enough coalition partners do not back your current leader, Mr. Narendra Modi, after the 2014 general elections? Polls suggest the B.J.P. will need allies, and may have to sacrifice Mr. Modi after the elections.

A.

No, not at all, I am not a candidate. And I don’t think the current opinion polls are accurate. It’s too early for the polls – voter behavior has not polarized yet, the campaign has not started. But there is a 5 to 6 percent vote swing in favor of the B.J.P. and if you map our party’s demographic, then we have the possibility of winning in 330 to 340 seats [above the 272 majority mark, and enough to ensure Mr. Modi as prime minister].

Q.

Is the B.J.P. placing all bets on this unprecedented sweep, though your best performance to date is 183 seats, in 1999? Does your party not have a Plan B?

A.

The Plan B, if there is one, need not be discussed when we are trying our best to win with our Plan A. A smart operator always has an exit policy, but that exit policy is not discussed in advance, never. It has to be an inside affair of the party.

Q.

But by projecting Mr. Modi as your leader, are you not turning off many voters who do not identify with a right-wing hardliner?

A.

Today the scenario in the country is a [Congress party-led] regime that is not delivering, a regime where the prime minister [Manmohan Singh] is seen as a lame duck. The government has to be pragmatic and get things done, but this government is incapable of doing it, it’s in a perpetual state of suspension. In these circumstances, particularly young people see an alternative model in Modi, and if they want him as prime minister they will have to elect his local representative. Also, a substantial number of businessmen are likely to back the B.J.P. this time, and they will also go for Modi. I believe a national mood is forming to put the B.J.P. in power and Modi as prime minister.

Q.

You have said the 2002 Gujarat riots under Mr. Modi were an administrative failure. Should he apologize for this lapse that resulted in so many deaths, as his critics suggest?

A.

Administrative failure does not mean everything is blamed on one man, Narendra Modi. What happened then was unfortunate, but that does not require his apology, it requires his correction and he has done that. There were many reasons why people lost control in 2002 after the dead bodies [of Hindu pilgrims from an earlier attack] were shown on TV. It should not have happened, the administration should have clamped down on any violence, [If I were in his place] I would have ensured…but Modi was new to the job as chief minister. It was a blot on Modi’s career, but he was not personally a part of it. If he is guilty by connivance he should be punished, but investigations have given him a clean chit. People who oppose him do so because they fear him.

Q.

You are seen as the moderate face of the Hindu right, but where do you see yourself ideologically? Are you a Hindu nationalist?

A.

I am a 100 percent democrat, democracy is at my heart. I am a perfect Hindu, but that is my personal faith, it has nothing to do with government. India is a Hindu nation in the cultural sense [Hindus are 82 percent of the population]. A Catholic in Goa is also Hindu culturally, because his practices don’t match with Catholics in Brazil [a former Portuguese outpost like Goa]; except in the religious aspect, a Goan Catholic’s way of thinking and practice matches a Hindu’s. So Hindu for me is not a religious term, it is cultural. I am not the Hindu nationalist as understood by some TV media – not one who will take out a sword and kill a Muslim. According to me that is not Hindu behavior at all. Hindus don’t attack anyone, they only do so for self-defense — that is our history. But in the right sense of the term, I am a Hindu nationalist.

Q.

Turning to Goa’s economy, about a quarter of the state’s population is dependent on mining, which was banned by the Supreme Court last year to stop illegal extraction. Have you been able to clean up the system?

A.

I have started. We are recovering some money that was not paid, and we are filing court cases against the guilty. But the blanket mining ban is hurting us – the court may be right in its perspective, but why can’t it find a solution for so long? Judges like to say justice delayed is justice denied: and here I am with 25 percent of my revenues gone, 25 percent of my people almost on the roads, and the court is not hearing me. There is nothing more criminal than that.

Q.

With mining revenues gone, you will be hoping that tourism can cover the shortfall this year. But safety for women is now a big concern for tourists to India.

A.

I don’t think we have that problem in Goa. Rapes happen elsewhere too, but there has to be quick reaction. In the 17 months of my regime, there is not a single instance where the police has failed to register a case in these matters, against an Indian or foreigner. There has been only one case of rape against a foreigner in my tenure, and we caught the culprit in three hours.

Source : NYT