Narendra Modi should be just Narendra Modi and go with his instincts as he goes about his job as the Prime Minister of India. That alone can ensure success — for him, and for this great nation
By mid-day Friday, the magnitude of the BJP’s historic, landslide victory was clear to all. It was also evident in equal measure that the party breaching the half-way mark to secure majority in the lok Sabha and, with its allies in the NDA, crossing the 300-mark to ensure a comfortable margin, was entirely on account of the massive ‘TsuNaMo’ which has flattened the Congress, demolishing the party and diminishing the Nehru-Gandhi Dynasty as never before.
From Kashmir (well, ladakh, to be honest) to Kanyakumari (or make that Andaman Islands) and from Arunachal Pradesh to Gujarat, Narendra Modi has led the BJP to a spectacular victory. It is a mandate for political stability, it is a vote for economic development; it is an endorsement of the Modi Maxim — minimum Government, maximum governance.
In brief, it is a positive vote for change, for demolishing the status quo, for putting an end to endemic corruption that has been viciously gnawing at our system like a malignant cancer. It is a mandate by Young India for a New India, a nation that is not weighed down by cockamamie social welfare programmes designed to perpetuate poverty. It is a vote for empowerment and prosperity.
While it may be too early to say this, but nonetheless it would be in order to suggest that this summer’s verdict is also a massive vote against what came to be known as the ‘era of coalition politics’. Those who see virtue in a Government cobbled together with the help of political parties with disparate ideologies (some do not even boast of an ideology) are not necessarily wise or gifted with far-sight. Experience has shown us that ‘coalition dharma’ is more about shutting your eyes to thievery by coalition partners than accommodating regional aspirations.
There is another aspect of ‘coalition dharma’ which is no less undesirable. The party leading a coalition often resorts to covering up its inadequacies and failures by passing the buck to its partners. If the Congress’s allies in the UPA were up to no good, the Congress was not up to the mark either in fulfilling its obligations and keeping its promises to the people. Manmohan Singh’s abysmal failure to assert his authority and exercise his power serves to underscore this point. The scams we have witnessed over the past decade may have been masterminded by the Congress’s allies, but it was the Congress-designated Prime Minister who presided over the unrestricted loot of the nation.
It could, therefore, be argued that the people decided to give an unambiguous mandate to the BJP so that it could be held accountable. That the BJP on its own has been able to secure a majority in the lok Sabha is indicative of this view. The tally of the NDA gives the BJP a comfortable margin. As Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will have to own up to his Government’s actions; unlike his predecessor, he can’t point a finger at the BJP’s allies. On the flip side, this allows him the freedom to decide and act decisively, but he alone would be responsible, and accountable, for both his Government’s decisions and deeds.
If Modi succeeds in delivering good governance and fulfilling his agenda of economic development, then future elections are more than likely to result in similar verdicts. Coalition politics may have served to further the interests of petty politicians, but the people are tired of the chicanery that we get to witness in the guise of ‘coalition dharma’. The BJP, more so Modi, would do well to bear this in mind: Keeping, indeed strengthening, the NDA is a good idea, but it cannot become a substitute for the BJP.
The BJP’s tally is no doubt stunning. But perhaps more stunning is the Congress’s crushing defeat. This is the worst ever electoral performance of the party —far worse than the defeat that visited Indira Gandhi in 1977. As I told a friend yesterday, India had been Modified. Friday, May 16 has turned out to be a day of liberation from a hugely corrupt, politically bankrupt and organisationally decrepit Congress.
The Indian Street has risen in revolt against the Nehru-Gandhi Palace. The Congress lies in tatters. The Delhi Durbar wears a forlorn look. The Dynasty has been stripped of its presumed divine right to rule. Congress Mukt Bharat, one of the slogans that propelled the Modi campaign, is no longer a mere possibility; it has happened. At least for the foreseeable future the Congress has been booted out.
The BJP’s sweep through Bihar and Uttar Pradesh shows the crumbling of vote-bank politics. Pandering to caste and faith no longer assures electoral dividends. Indeed, it has begun to backfire. Rank casteist parties have been rejected, as have been communalists who practice topi-tilak politics. The voter has chosen good governance and development over corruption and fake ‘secularism’.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who has been resurrected by Modi from the oblivion into which his memory had been pushed by the Nehru clan-obsessed Congress, crafted a united India out of more than 500 princely States and British-administered territory. To him goes the credit of creating ‘Ek Bharat’. After this summer’s election, the task of creating a ‘Shreshth Bharat’ shall fall on the shoulders of Modi. He will now have to live up to his promises and popular expectations.
last year when Modi was declared the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, I had openly supported him for the top job in these columns. My support was based on three factors: His unimpeachable integrity; his awesome track record as Chief Minister of Gujarat; and, his agenda of development. We could add a fourth reason to it — his absolute commitment to serving India and Indians.
It is to be hoped that Modi does not fail the masses who have carried him on their shoulders to power. It is also to be hoped that Modi resists the temptation of being seen as one with the Delhi elite which is solely responsible for India’s myriad problems. There is no reason why Modi should be compared to either Ronald Reagan or Margaret Thatcher. Nor is there any reason for him to emulate either of them in office.
Modi should be just Modi and go with his instincts as he goes about his job as Prime Minister. That alone can ensure success — for him, and for this great nation.
(The writer is a Delhi-based senior journalist)