Narendra Modi will be a stronger leader for India than his counter-part. He is a far superior orator and has a comfortable and confident style of leadership as was evident in his Vibrant Gujarat Speech. The ease with which he switched from English to Hindi; his use of the word ‘mitro’ (friends); his clear voice and unquivering tone were all inspiring to watch. Compare that to the dithering mess that Rahul Gandhi made out of a very well-drafted speech in Jaipur and on Style alone, Modi is miles ahead.
What about substance? Can we make a fair comparison here? Every day that passes I think more of the depth into which Rahul Gandhi’s speech went into in terms of fixing party politics before fixing the national landscape. Will this be possible under RG? Would Congress be better off in the opposition camp for the next 5 years sorting their inner party politics first for a fresh-tilt in 2019?
Now ask the same questions as above off BJP. The reason we are not debating the inner shambles that BJP is, is because we have very deftly been distracted by Modi The Man. Why are we not discussing Nitin Gadkari’s blatant fraudulence more? Why are we not pushing Nitish Kumar into the lime light as an alternative to the tainted Modi? What of the dangerous RSS-BJP nexus that is both scary and unhealthy for India?
The last question especially has far-reaching consequences for India as a country. The violence that RSS carries out in the name of ‘nationalism’ or ‘orthodox hinduism’ is devastating at worst and misguided at best. This narrow interpretation of Hinduism is dangerous and the Saffron-coloured paint that this provides them with to cover any unlawful actions committed by their members is something educated young professionals like you and me should stand up against.
Despite very strong criticisms, Modi will take BJP to a victory in the 2014 polls. Why?
3 Factors that will take BJP to victory:
- Modi: This man has a track-record of financial success in managing a State which is now used as a global example of Good Business. The language used by Modi is what the India of Today and Tomorrow wants to hear. GDP, Profits, Corporations, Foreign Direct Investment, Ease of doing business; sound much more sexier to the Indian Voter than Development, Minority Rights and Infrastructural Changes. There may well be policies that Modi puts into place that will go toward the latter issues, however it is the former language that makes him a more attractive option.
- Rahul Gandhi: Gandhi is a reason in itself as to why the BJP will come out stronger in the next election. The man is ridiculed by the Modi-lovers and the middle class or potentially undecided voter alike. He is not one who has developed the art of being able to inspire a Young India) and his further lack of participating in Parliament or legislative processes is surprising and disappointing for someone who has seemingly been groomed for the post of Prime Minister of India since birth.
- An unstable neighbour: All arrows point toward the political instability of Pakistan continuing. One more incident on Indian Soil or against India that even remotely resembles terrorism will result in a strong and prepared reaction that will include Army Retaliation. The right-wing activists are waiting for an event such as this to mobilize the extremist Hindus. It happened in Gujarat in 2002, it will happen nation-wide next and India will look to a strong individualist as a leader during this period. Modi and BJP will be the beneficiaries.
India does not have Presidential elections. We still follow the old westminster style of electing people and one party/coalition needs to reach 272 to govern the country. BJP and Congress combined do not have more than 320 out of 543 seats. For Modi to be PM, BJP needs any where between 200-220 seats on its own plus allies. There will have to be a Modi wave. For a country as diverse and complex as India with over 20 dominant languages in different regions, it happens very rarely.
Your analysis which states that ‘infrastructural changes’ and ‘Development’ do not figure in Modi’s language is wrong. He is one of the few government represenatives who has delivered on both counts. The fact has been corroborated by the Central government which is run by the ruling party and by various surveys nationally and internationally.
Your 3rd point which amounts to speculation does not make sense. It is a fact less theory propounded without any basis. Your cause and effect analysis is funny to say the least.
NaMo-2014 only one reason P2G2 (Pro-People Good-Governance).
As Ankit mentioned, your reasoning for point #3 seems bit unreasonable. May be you can articulate it bit better,
I don’t agree with everything Rikky’s said in this piece, but I do agree with point #3…what he was getting at was that ‘fear’ and strongman tactics are often the strategies of the political right. Hindutiva politics that BJP and Narendra Modi espouse is based on creating a fear of ‘the other’ be it muslims, minorities, migrants, or a neighbouring state and the way they want to counter it is through military might..There is definite historical precedent if you look at the politics of the hindu-right in the last 20-30 years.
Even if you look at what Congress has been doing recently, eg – the hanging of Afzal Guru the other week – this was clearly a political response to trying to appear like a ‘tougher’ govt. leading up to 2014.
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