Action, reaction

N.V. Subramanian 

7 June 2013

http://newsinsight.net/Action,reaction.aspx#page=page-1

[Narendra Modi’s enemies have made him into a star.]

If the Bharatiya Janata Party declares Narendra Modi as its prime minister candidate and loses the general election, it would be its problem. Why are other politicians and political parties so worried and so opposed to his nomination then? 

It is understandable that Lal Krishna Advani and Sushma Swaraj hate his guts, because the party hasn’t had a mass leader like him in a long while, and Atal Behari Vajpayee wasn’t a mass politician by any reckoning, great as a prime minister though he was. 

So what is the problem of the other parties vis-a-vis Modi? Why is the Congress party saying that he will polarize the voting to its advantage and then opposes him tooth and nail, setting the Central Bureau of Investigation in his pursuit to get any dirt, and manufacture some if necessary? Why? Why is the political class so united against Modi? 

Because the Gujarat chief minister represents transformative change that quivers them to their bones. His can-do attitude makes them appear as tired geezers and parasites that won’t vacate their offices as they suck the blood of the nation. 

The Congress of course is full of bloodsuckers but there are any number of them present in the other political parties. Sharad Pawar. Laloo Prasad Yadav. Mulayam Singh Yadav. Muthuvel Karunanidhi. That is only the first line. Count their sons and daughters and nephews and in-laws and brothers and sisters. The list is endless. 

Then there are the second-rung politicians and the power brokers who assure you of getting Muslim votes and OBC votes and Mahadalit votes and so on. Nitish Kumar tried the caste stunt in the Maharajganj bi-election and came a cropper. He played the development card too and it didn’t work, development having plateaued in Bihar. Nitish, the Yadav chieftains, etc, represent the older generation of contractor politicians. It’s status quo for them. They have spent their lives in the caste and communal construct of 

Indian politics which means nothing to a majority of young voters today who root for Modi. Modi, therefore, represents a political tidal wave which will wash them away. The fear of Modi thus animates Advani and Sushma Swaraj and Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar and the rest of the gang. 

But how can you prevent an idea whose time has come? 

It is natural psychology to oppose what you fear. But it is opposition which has made Narendra Modi into a colossus.

This writer is often asked, “What is it that Modi has that the other successful BJP chief ministers do not have, say, someone like Shivraj Chauhan?” The short answer is national image. How did a chief minister of a non-“cowbelt” state like Gujarat get that “national image”? By virtue of being opposed nationally. 

It is because the political class led by the Congress, the mainstream media comprising newspapers and television channels, and so-called public intellectuals, began opposing Modi on an epic scale that the man grew to epic proportions. In exceptional circumstances, voters love the underdog. 

From the time of Indira Gandhi, Indian politics has proved instructive not to oppose anyone on false premises, because the voters will rally to the side of the victim. The Syndicate outmanoeuvred Mrs Gandhi but she broke out and went to the people. The voters backed her. The first Janata government at the Centre made the blunder of focusing on sending Mrs Gandhi to jail than on giving good governance. When the voters got their chance, they forgot the Emergency and brought Mrs Gandhi back to power. 

Something similar happened to Rajiv Gandhi when he was on a comeback trail after the terrible failure of his mortal enemy, Vishwanath Pratap Singh (Chandrasekhar was an aberration like Charan Singh after Morarji Desai; see how history repeats as farce), although fate had something else in store. Demonizing on a bigger scale happened to Narendra Modi, and it catapulted him to the national stage. 

As a national-level politician, Narendra Modi speaks a unique language. He speaks the vocabulary of action and doing. His energy is extraordinary. He is here, there, everywhere, like a chief executive on the go. His plans for India are audacious and astonishing. 

On another level, the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats are terrified because he gives no quarter to thieves and brigands. The few honest officers, however, want him to clean up the system. Oddly, there are Congressmen who desire that he takes over for the same reason. Modi incidentally represents the Bharatiya Janata Party. At the end of the day, he is his own man. 

There’s a story worth repeating here. Part of the anger of central BJP leaders with respect to Modi is that there are no easy monies for them to make from Gujarat as they succeeded from Karnataka under B.S.Yeddyruppa. When they asked Modi for contributions, legitimate and otherwise, he is reported to have said, “I make no money for myself nor is the party rolling in funds in the state to make handsome transfers to you. If you do not believe me, please check for yourself.” Needless to say, no one did. 

Like it or not, this is Modi. He is a deep man. He is fully committed to India, more than any other Indian mainstream politician. After Modi, there is no dynasty. If he becomes prime minister, India will be transformed beyond recognition, and politicians, big and small, will be ejected from their business of looting and dividing the country. This is why they oppose him, and the bigger the opposition, the mightier he grows. 

N.V.Subramanian is Editor, www.newsinsight.net and writes on politics and strategic affairs. He has authored two novels, University of Love (Writers Workshop, Calcutta) and Courtesan of Storms (Har-Anand, Delhi). 

Email: envysub@gmail.com