2. From invisible to invincible!
• Elections in India are always a very active period in the
political calendar.
• The upcoming national elections are, thus, no different and
have political analysts working overtime as to pool all the
data together and present a clear enough picture as to the
chances of the various permutations and combinations
possible at the Centre.
• There was once a time when 272 was a magic number the
Congress could pull off in an instant, a point of time when the
BJP was just another stone on the road to Rajpath.
• But with the entrance of collation politics, that stone began
to grow steadily to become the boulder the public sees
today.
3. The Modi era
• 2014 happens to be the year when the Congress has finally
got around to placing Rahul Gandhi in a substantial position
of power, hyping him up to be the unofficial candidate for the
PM post.
• But to get there, he must face the most potent weapon the
BJP has rising through its ranks: Narendra Modi.
• Fresh from winning a third term in Gujarat, Modi looked to be
following a path of unchallenged state dominance that had
never been seen in the post-Jyothi Basu era.
• While it seems unlikely that the record set by one of Bengal’s
most iconic CPM cadres will ever be remotely challenged, the
support Modi commands from the population in Gujarat
despite his alleged involvement in the Godhra riots throws up
many similarities to Basu’s rule.
4. “Vibrant Gujarat” indeed…
• While some have said the rise of Modi has been due to the
apparent lack of an alternative leader in Gujarat politics, it
does nothing to dent the fact that large progress has been
seen in the erstwhile languishing state.
• His most recent victory, however, has given us a glimpse of
his evolution as a politician, playing to the masses and
skillfully diverting attention away from the subtlety of his
communal campaigns.
• For the first time, Modi was elected into the assembly
without having to play the communal card, going to the
extent of trivialising the Muslim representation in the state
by not even bothering to reach out for their support.
5. Much more than just satisfaction
• Modi’s success in Gujarat has solidified his image as the BJP’s
new-age campaigner.
• Tech-savvy, educated and shrewd, Modi represents a new
brand of politicians raring to take over the reins of the BJP
and revamp its image.
• With the ability to communicate to ‘young India’, as the
Congress has stressed on many times, the BJP now has a
fighting chance to actually come to power at the Centre after
a long hiatus, courtesy the scam-racked UPA-II shamble at
present.
• But within this race to occupy the Parliament, the BJP’s
internal competitions are ready to ignite.
6. The forerunner
• Modi in particular is a strong forerunner for the post of PM.
• In his path to 10 Janpath, however, lie many large
impediments; foremost among them being Sushma Swaraj,
LK Advani and Modi’s own baggage.
• As a politician with a hard-core Moditva (Modi’s own brand of
the BJP’s agenda of Hindutva) image, it is difficult to imagine
him having a significantly large appeal amongst the largely
secular Indian population.
7. Everyone has his own baggage
• His indifference towards Muslims in the microcosm of
Gujarat only seeks to illustrate how he might perform in the
larger context of India.
• Bias towards Gujarat remains a major worry in the mind of
the Indian voter, supplemented by the fact that Modi has had
no verifiable success on the rare occasions that he has
stepped out of his state to campaign for the BJP.
• Above all, his indictments in the Godhra riot cases have not
yet been resolved, striking another blow to his reputation and
image as a rising BJP star.
• Also, Modi does not enjoy much support from his fellow
members with the BJP as well as the RSS, its parent body.
8. India Shining
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP’s most successful prime-
ministerial candidate, remains an inspiration and a role model
for all those within the BJP to aspire to.
• Analysis of Modi’s actions indicates that he aims to be the
next such role model.
• But Modi lacks the acumen to compromise when the
situation demands it and look at the bigger picture in terms
of the good of the country over state, a quality that made
Vajpayee indispensable to the BJP administration.
• Only time will tell if the country will really back Modi to be its
flag bearer as the BJP seeks to live up to its own long coined
slogan ‘India Shining’…
9. • Read more on Youth Ki Awaaz at http://bit.ly/YUKC5z
10. • Read more on Youth Ki Awaaz at http://bit.ly/YUKC5z
