Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ostensibly achieved a major feat – by remaining the longest-serving head of government in a nation where political volatility remained pronounced for decades. Braving all odds, he remained first as chief minister of Gujarat state and since 2014 as the Prime Minister without any interruption. By Sunday, he completed 8931 days in office through these two positions, exceeding the record of Sikkim’s chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, who boasts of 8,930 days. This, for both, are remarkable achievements – and more so for Modi in a nation where he has to contend with a strong Opposition. Luckily for Modi the Opposition currently is deeply divided, with a significant number of states being controlled by regional chieftains through their individual political establishments; some of them in dynastic mode. With their swings to one or the other sides, opposition unity is a far cry. Currently the Congress party has failed to lead the other opposition political parties which have now splintered. Modi took advantage of the situation, despite his serious administrative flaws.
Modi has the advantage of running the government at the Centre for three consecutive terms as prime minister, and he has three more years to go consequent upon the NDA allies remaining Intact. Chances are that they would remain with the BJP as the Congress is not in a position yet to catch the fancy of the people in most states. It lacks an agenda that would impress people. Rahul Gandhi being a young leader should have better inspired the large mass of youths by virtue of his identification with the new generation. Rather, the old lot continues to rule the roost in national politics under Modi’s leadership. The Prime Minister has his good sides, like ensuring both political and economic stability during the course of his 12 years at the helm. By now, it is a moot point whether he retains the ability to woo the people – as was evident in the 2024 parliament polls, where he could not gather enough numbers to form the next government. Yet, the BJP remains a formidable presence in the Hindi-belt, by virtue also of its resort to religion as a means to whip up the emotions of people through eminent prompting from the RSS. Once the RSS pulls the plug, Modi could be in trouble.
Other positive sides to Modi include him not overstepping his limits. His experience as the Chief Minister of Gujarat helped him run the administration with a good political and administrative grounding. Yet, worse things happened under his leadership– like the epic 2002 Gujarat riots, and the note demonetization exercise in 2016 that caused immense trouble to the people because of a lack of proper planning. He got away with these. The Operation Sindoor itself, or the surgical strikes before that, on Pakistan did not meet with the desired results. Operation Sindoor was allegedly a flop, as the nation is believed to have lost heavily. Claims that some 11 fighter jets were downed in the military action have not been denied. Silence cannot be an answer. Leadership is about both successes and failures.
