Post Poll Spotlight

New Delhi, 23 May 2014

Modi As PM

TOUGH PROMISES TO KEEP

By Nikhil Gajendragadkar

Seven Race Course Road will have its new incumbent and so also the nation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in. Once the formalities are over, the people would be waiting anxiously to get answers of how Modi proposes to fulfil their hopes and aspirations.

More so, as barring the BJP’s manifesto, it is interesting to note that during these past seven or eight months neither the Party nor Modi spoke about how they plan to boost the economy, which is in doldrums? How will they revive the ailing industry? How will they create those millions of jobs? What will be their international policy? All these are vital questions. Till now, the BJP focused only on the name and personality of Modi, and eventually won the historic elections. Development and Good Governance should not end up as a mere slogan.

Modi must realise that the nation as a whole did not back him in toto.  AIADMK’s Jaylalitha and TMC’s Mamta Banerjee succeeded in holding their forte as BJP could just win two seats each in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal respectively. Mayawati, who always uses caste as her main weapon saw a complete rout but other parties did get more than 140 seats. Odisha continues to be Naveen Patnaik’s turf. Kerala remains a no-go. Left parties are no more a force to reckon with but they have managed to show that they exist. That means many citizens in different parts of India believe in some regional party, and that they are not willing to accept autocratic rule of one party or a person.

It is said that after 1984 this is the first time one party has gained majority in Lok Sabha, this is partially true. But one cannot compare this election with 1984. Back then the Congress had gained two-third majority -- on the basis of a ‘sympathy wave’. The BJP-led NDA too knows the difference. At best, this election is akin to the victory of the ‘Janata Party’ in 1977.  People had expressed their resentment against the system through the ballot box then and so has it been the case for Election 2014.

Yes, the BJP under the stewardship of Modi attained its historic victory. It shall soon form the Government and run the country, but he would need to realise that this is not a blanket permission to impose autocracy, as some fear. Modi provided the alternative at the right moment but moreover people of India wanted a change and they expressed their angst through the ballot. The wave was indeed created by these millions of voters of India.

So if the BJP thinks and thanks Modi for the ‘wave’ it should look at the larger perspective, despite being stumped by the thumping victory itself. Modi had claimed during the campaign, that “he will” (form the government on its own) and he made it happen. But, after the victory, surely the debate continues within the Party whether it belongs to Modi or to the party or its ideology-if any? What is the cause of it, who is the rightful claimant of this victory, shall be the subject of discussion for years to come. But nothing succeeds like success and the BJP has got another whiff of it. Will it along with its Prime Minister be able to revel in it?

The new Government cannot have the same example of applying ‘marketing’ techniques to its work like the political campaign. Does Modi have a strategy, like he did when he planned the line of attack from the day he was elected as the chief of the Campaign Committee September last?  Barak Obama won his Presidential election with the slogan and concept of ‘Change’. Modi took the cue and prepared his stratagem around similar idea. ‘Government must be changed’ was his central theme and he hammered the point relentlessly for those gruelling months.

Congress-led UPA government at the Centre helped him and his party by being lethargic and has itself to blame. In the past five years or so, its performance went from bad to worse and from below average to inept. Their insensitivity to burning issues and problems of the common man made citizens angry. Recall, one such glimpse we all saw in December 2012 after the gang rape in Delhi. Huge support to social activist Anna Hazare was another instance of people’s outrage against politicians, but the Government failed to understand or worse refused to understand. The leadership itself provided many opportunities to the Opposition parties to attack it, with the BJP being the main beneficiary. It took the cue and harped on the issue of ‘Good Governance’ and surged ahead.

As a result Congress failed to win a single seat in seven States. People rejected regional parties including Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in UP. Voters decided to hand over power to one party, which made change possible. In Maharashtra, a big State which generally supports Congress turned to BJP and its ally the Shiv Sena.

The era of coalition governments started from 1989. Everybody –including politicians- assumed that days of one party rule are over and governments created out of some combinations are a necessity. But such governments drew criticism and what happens to governance in can be seen from the UPA-II’s performance.  Perhaps voters of India decided to put an end to ‘mixed’ or ‘front’ governments and bring in one party to power.

Modi was quick to guess the direction of the wind and presented his Party in an appropriate light. He used the technique of, what is known as ‘brand positioning’ in Marketing and Advertising, in the political campaign. He positioned BJP as the only alternative, not only to Congress but to all others. He skilfully used all media, including social media on the internet to woo voters. He successfully attracted young people-potential voters- who are excited and cannot wait for change to happen, to BJP. He changed the game there. Will he be able to deliver?

The industrial world of India--referred to as India Inc was livid because of a “policy paralysis” of the Government, so they too were looking for a change. As a Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi had maintained good relations with all big and small industrialists, so they eagerly backed him. The RSS, the mother organisation of BJP (from original ‘Bharatiya Jana Sangh’ to Bharatiya Janata Party) and ideologue, decided to put its might behind the party and Modi. Workers or ‘Swayamsewaks’ of the Sangh actively campaigned all over the country. The mood is clearly upbeat and Modi has to ensure that their effort doesn’t go to waste.

Be it inflation or unemployment, or the Government’s insensitivity towards their daily problems, the people now would demand the change they sought to be delivered. Modi must realise and admit that the real credit goes to the people of India, not an individual or a Party. His mandate must be – Government of the people, by the people and for the people. ----INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)