MODI...MODI...MODI...
PM...PM...PM...PM...
To be..or, not to
be..is not Modi’s dilemma. Whether he
should be..or, he should not be.. is the dilemma of all others.
I
have not heard him speak of any of his “Beyond-Gujarat” ambitions. That is, if
at all, he has any. Even if you ask him in his sleep, he will talk of chey karod Gujaratis, as of today. His
vocabulary certainly is not 1.2 billion Indians. His priority and fixation has been and is 6
crore Gujaratis.
So,
if he does not contend - to become the PM in 2014, many congressmen will be
disappointed – even if many BJP men are not disappointed. Many TV Anchors will
be disappointed. Many News Paper Editors will be disappointed. He should at
least contend for the Post of PM. Whether he wins or loses, the result is
immaterial. In this, there seems to be near unanimity – even if congress men
protest vehemently that they do not want BJP to select him for the post.
Who
else can be BJP’s nominee for the Post of PM? There are two other obvious
contenders for the Post. 1. Sushma Swaraj 2. Arun Jaitley. That makes the three
potential contenders a trinity. There does not seem to be much groupism behind
the three – although many chorus voices rise in favour of Modi.
Who
amongst them has an ALL INDIA IMAGE? None. As of now. Modi is a crowd Puller in
Gujarat. He has a charisma of his own. He speaks chaste Gujarati; good Hindi;
tolerable English. He may have to improve his English Delivery significantly to
mesmerize the elite of India. The elite of India has certain attraction towards
Modi, positive or negative.
To
my mind, Modi’s DEVELOPMENT AGENDA is what attracts India at large – and quite
justifiably.
To
the credit of Modi, one must admit that he never spoke in favour of or against this
or that community and this or that religion. At least, I have not heard him
speak of religion and caste in his political speeches. To that extent, his is
the truly INCLUSIVE, DEVELOPMENTAL PLANK.
The
HINDUTVA plank of RSS is a serious headache for BJP, even if many in BJP are not
aware of it, and some may be aware but may not admit it.
If
BJP comes to power, it is sheerly on the development plank of Modi and other
BJP CMs. If BJP loses the game, the sole credit for that goes to the HINDUTVA
AGENDA of RSS, VHP and others. Despite the absolute BAD PERFORMANCE of UPA in
many areas (Especially UPA II), if BJP still does not come to Power in 2014, I
think, it will be due to the HINDUTVA PLANK. Every ally of congress has said
that congress’ performance and its reliability are below par. But yet, no one
wants to join BJP. The Togadias and Bhagavathis can undo all the good that
Congress has been doing for BJP.
If
BJP came to power the one time it did, it was due to Mr.Vajapayee’s almost
secular face. If BJP can’t see itself in a clean Mirror, and sees itself in a
Hindutva Mirror now, it will be its fault.
But,
the top three leaders of BJP still keep a clean face, devoid of Hindutva
colour. Modi, despite 2002 incidents, has been able to keep a clean record from
2002 to 2013. He never spoke of castes and religions in any political speech,
as far as I have heard. For any Politician in India, this is very tough. Arun
Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj also can claim to be so – but, their Political
speeches are far less outside parliament and outside press conferences.
The
three together can pull it off - if they steer clear of Hindutva image. All the
three are competent and astute administrators. All the three reasonably have a
non-hindutva, secular image – despite all the efforts of Congress against Modi.
But,
the negative point about all the three of them is – none of them today is a
national leader.
They
must tour the whole of India, district by district, preferably together, and
address public meetings in every district – and address press in each district
– and meet at least a few people in a few villages and towns.
For
a long, long time, India has not seen a national leader. And, the result of
that today is – most states are governed by local chieftains, who have almost
nothing to do with Delhi. And Delhi has not been adequately fair to them too.
Who,
of the three – becomes the PM is not the real question. Will the three tour
India and meet people across the length and breadth of each state matters a lot
for India and for BJP, in the long run. BJP and India both need truly national
leaders. Will BJP steer clear of
Hindutva, at least in Politics, is the next crucial aspect for BJP.
For
India, BJP is one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is the Congress.
The coalition Politics of congress has pulled the cart of Governance so far and
did nothing admirable beyond that. Pulling, falling, getting up, pulling,
falling, getting up – this has been going on quite for some time. Not all blame
is on Congress. The allies were tough nuts – beyond comfort.
But,
Congress was quick to make every man an enemy too. Whoever raised an issue, be
it Ram devji, or Team Anna or anyone else, the government immediately put
various government organs behind them. This was BAD POLITICS. This was also BAD
GOVERNANCE. The Lok Pal Bill could have been easily passed. But, Political will
was obviously lacking. Had it been passed, Congress as a party could have come
out gloriously. Some corrupt persons would have suffered. But, that would have
been common for all parties. Many corrupt parties would have sunk totally. Both
Congress and BJP would have come out stronger and cleaner. India would have
been a winner. I do not really know, but, Congress can still pull it off in the
remaining months.
Corruption
scandals were too many this time. There was no need to fight with CAG or
Supreme Court on any of these issues. They could have been asked for sincere
advice on how to tackle future cases. Persons fighting against corruption must
be treated as ALLIES and not as OPPONENTS – by any government. That is how
better governance happens in any country.
Congress
has some able Ministers and leaders. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, despite
all corruption scandals, all around him, is still regarded as a non-corrupt,
non-corruptible, and far-sighted Prime Minister.
Congress
however, banks on Rahul Gandhi, the reluctant heir apparent of the Indira
Gandhi clan. Rahul doesn’t have the charisma of his father Rajiv Gandhi, nor
his oratorical capabilities – at least as on date. But, he could be a good
leader. He doesn’t have any negative Image – which itself is a great Positive.
One remembers how he took on Shiv Sena, right on its turf, when Shiv Sena was
indulging in some anti-non Maharastrian activities. That bold move was the hall
mark of a Good leader. His inexperience can be made up adequately - if he selects capable, young advisers - to assist him.
He
has some young leaders as friends – and they are all capable. But
then, all of them, including Rahul Gandhi lack National Image. They, as a
group, must tour the whole of India, meet people, talk to people, understand
them and their problems and project a unified image of India.
Unfortunately
Congress has been seeking small, small, casteist and religious vote banks for
the last several years and this has seen its vote bank shrink considerably.
Modi’s inclusive Politics is far more secular in many ways and far more
unifying for the country.
But,
Rahul, Shashi Taroor, Scindia, and such young leaders must bring Congress out
of this morass. For this, they must energetically tour and don the mantle of
national leadership. They must emerge as national leaders.
It
should not be UPA vs NDA vs Third Front – in 2014 or at least in the next
elections to that..
I
personally would like to see just Congress vs BJP in a clean fight, with
regional parties becoming un-preferred by the average citizen of India. India
needs such unified, national parties, which rise above caste and religious
politics.
If
this happens, whoever comes – India will be a winner.
*
* * E
N D *
* *
No comments:
Post a Comment