Now that Modi has been appointed as the Chairman of the Campaign Committee, Indian media has taken this too seriously and has almost declared Modi as the next PM. Few channels have eulogized him by creating a program on his life with highly romantic notions about his politics. With the help of Social Media supporters and APCO, team Modi has also not left any stone unturned to make us believe that Modi is the next PM of the largest democracy of the planet. So the question which must come to our mind must not be who is going to be our next PM, but who is going to be Gujarat’s next CM!
It is useless to repeat what Modi’s elevation as Chairman of the Campaign Committee mean. It is time to look into deeper consequences of it. There is no blinking to the fact that Modi has extremely critical experience of campaigning for several years in Gujarat. The Gujarat experience will bring value to his campaign in India as well. But we must not forget some points. Modi also led the campaigns to a great extent during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. His campaign in Uttar Pradesh at that time failed to polarize the upper caste Hindu votes, but was able to polarize the votes for his opponents. We can say that he was able to polarize the Muslim votes against BJP. I am sure BJP is ready for this. But can any party survive with alienating a major section of the society? As a senior journalist said, “In politics Perception is bigger than Reality”, this holds good significance for BJP.
We must also not be so harsh on Modi and BJP. This is a different time now. Past two years have proved that India can react too. This anti-government wave will be a crucial factor in deciding the future of not only Congress but also BJP in General Elections. The Modi model has created an economic hype and there are people in the country who believe that by one person coming to power everything will change and they will get better jobs, and price of milk will drastically decrease in many Chapras and many Belagurs.
I wonder what the Gujaratis must be thinking. Many of them are happy that their leader will become the leader of the country; that their model of governance will be India’s model of governance. But sadly, India is not Gujarat. India is a larger constituency with many factors deciding the national result. In politics, at many times, it is not about selection of the best, but elimination of the worst. We are not sure what the country thinks.
Leading the Election Campaign Committee is one among the many first signs of Modi being projected as the PM candidate. This will make the other parties revisit their policy for the upcoming election. Does not matter how much Modi talks about Economic growth, he is still not able to accept‘topi’ as a gift. This non-inclusiveness can cost him dearly in his campaigns and subsequent results.
Future is uncertain. But that is the good part of future: being uncertain!
This article was first published in Youth Ki Awaaz under Daily Drama on June 10, 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment