By Srinivasan K. Rangachary
BJP has expressed its anger at a Congress leader calling Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi a monkey and demanded that Sonia Gandhi explain if she approves of the use of such “intemperate and filthy” language. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar charged that Gujarat Congress Chief Arjun Modhvadia had used intemperate language by calling Modi a monkey.
This is absolutely condemnable and is a result of the Congress frustration as they cannot defeat the BJP in the elections. They have no issues to throw at the people and so are using such filthy language. This is not dishonour of the chief minister’s post or Modi but of the whole state of Gujarat. He maintained that the electorate of Gujarat will give a “fitting reply” to the Congress in the polls. Modi is an icon of good governance and progress and Gujarat has made tremendous progress under his rule.
Whatever may be the reason for the name calling the fact remains that Narendra Modi is indeed an enigma. He is loved and revered by millions but is also hated by an army of detractors. The earlier impression that most political observers had of him was that while he has built up an enviable rapport with the people of Gujarat, he is reviled more than revered in the rest of the country. But successive opinion polls in recent months have disproved that. Conducted on a countrywide basis, these polls have shown him up as the most popular contender for prime ministerial office. Yet, there is a question mark over whether the BJP would opt to put him up as their prime ministerial candidate if he puts up a strong showing in the Gujarat assembly polls. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s threat that his Janata Dal (U) would snap its links with the BJP if Modi is the prime ministerial candidate can hardly be considered inconsequential.
It is also a fact that Modi has many detractors even in the BJP, most of whom work behind- the- scenes to conspire to deny him a shot at the top slot.
It must be said in Modi’s defence that in these times of rampant corruption and nepotism when most leaders across the country are feathering their nests and going out of their way to accommodate their kin, he stands out as virtually incorruptible and free of nepotism. It is widely acknowledged that there is much lesser corruption in Gujarat today than there was before Modi assumed charge.
Narendra Modi leads an austere life and is an obsessive yoga practitioner. He got married at a very young age but never talks of his wife who reportedly lives in a village and works as a teacher in a school.
He has no children and with no family responsibilities, he is a workaholic. Modi has been a loyal soldier of the RSS since he was a teenager. Yet, he has never got along with state leaders of both the RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Indeed, he is a loner but when it comes to being among the masses he is in his element. Few would deny Modi’s skills as an organiser and a mass leader with a rare charisma. Yet, he comes off as arrogant and intolerant of dissent and that turns off many of his erstwhile supporters. That Gujarat under him has prospered with a consistent growth rate of over 10 per cent is no empty boast.
He has injected a degree of dynamism and taken initiatives that have brought in huge investment into Gujarat despite governments of western countries virtually boycotting him right since 2002 when riots broke out in retaliation over the burning of some bogies of a train carrying Hindu pilgrims at Godhra and the target were largely innocent Muslims who had nothing to do with that unfortunate incident.
It was a measure of his growing stature that the British ambassador visited him in Ahmedabad recently, in a sense ending the unofficial boycott of him by western countries, and the Americans made it known that if he were to apply for a US visa afresh, the government there would take a liberal view. He had been denied an American visa in 2005 for “religious intolerance” and has since kept away from the West. That has, however, not stopped him from communicating with American audiences of ethnic Indians through video conferencing. It’s now only a matter of time before Europe in general opens its doors to Modi, attracted by the economic opportunities that his land offers and the success of the economic dream under his stewardship. While bureaucrats in Gujarat by and large admire him for his decisiveness and drive, many of them dislike him for his brashness and arrogance.
Some of the country’s biggest names in industry and trade talk of him effusively for the ease of doing business that is his gift to Gujarat and for the speed with which land can be acquired for factories. In general he has to a large extent eliminated bureaucratic delays that are the bane in doing business in other states.
All said and done, a fourth successive term for Narendra Modi as chief minister in Gujarat is well and truly on the cards so much so that even bitter critics of Modi and a cross section of Congressmen believe that it is a lost battle for the Congress.
How does the BJP in Gujarat manage to buck the general trend of anti- incumbency against governments? Why hasn’t the Congress been able to produce and nurture a leader who could match the charisma of Modi? These are questions that beg an answer. The more Modi is hounded by the media and reviled by Congress leaders the more acceptability he finds among the people of Gujarat. Modi’s main challenger in the state is Shankarsinh Vaghela who was once in the BJP and was closely associated with the RSS. Vaghela has not been able to command the support of the rank and file in the Congress party since he is looked upon as an outsider who deserted his erstwhile party for personal ends.
But whatever may be Modi’s trump cards, it is difficult to see him donning the prime ministerial mantle even if he gets the endorsement from his party which itself is no mean task. The strong suspicion that he looked the other way when Muslims were at the receiving end of the riots of 2002 has made the whole Muslim community turn against him. Had Modi expressed regret for the failure to protect the minority the opposition of Muslims across the country may have somewhat softened but the Gujarat strongman apparently thought that an apology would harm his interests in Gujarat which is his bastion. But if Modi does manage to sweep the Gujarat polls and ultimately gets the NDA stamp of approval as prime ministerial candidate against various odds, it would be Modi’s charisma, his record in the economic arena against his reputation of a non- inclusive mindset- versus- the Congress’ record of misgovernance and corruption at the Centre.
Few would deny Modi’s skills as an organiser and a mass leader with a rare charisma. Yet, he comes off as arrogant and intolerant of dissent and that turns off many of his erstwhile supporters. INAV