ENARADA , New Delhi,
By Ajay N Jha
The much awaited announcement of “Team Modi for the LS polls of 2014” appears to have caused more heartburn within the BJP ranks than otherwise. No one is saying on record. But the discomfiture of senior leaders is obvious in private conversations.
The question that some are asking within party is whether the 20 committees that have been formed will give an edge to Modi or the BJP over the ruling Congress?. They are also wondering whether the earlier idea of having four zonal committees, headed by top leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari and Venkaiah Naidu was a better idea than having over a dozen and half committees with varying responsibilities?.
For the record, BJP general secretary said that “The committee will work under guidance of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Rajnath Singh and under chairmanship of Modi ,” But Modi’s poll campaign secretariat has perhaps been made far too big to work as a cohesive team. A total of 20 committees, packed with 98 leaders, surprised many in the party.
The BJP’s decision on the committees does not reflect any smart innovative thinking that could bear Modi’s stamp. This long list of 20 groups is more in keeping with the move to appease all. The time taken and delays, shows that in effect it is more of a consensus forming exercise than the choice of a person who is face of the campaign and has been entrusted with the task of winning the elections for BJP.
That however, seems easier said than done. But one thing is certain. Whether Modi wins or loses the grand electoral battle of the 2014 general elections, what demands attention is his attempt to trigger a major paradigm shift in Indian politics. Modi is not just attempting to decisively win over non-Muslim voters but go beyond into hitherto uncharted waters. Given the RSS-BJP blood flowing through his veins, seeking to unite and consolidate Hindu votes is a given. That was something that even the BJP patriarch LK Advani attempted with the Rath Yatra in 1990. What Modi is attempting today is to focus on redefining secularism in India as it has been preached and practiced for decades in Indian politics.
Through his nationalistic quips and quotes which has made other political parties uneasy , Modi is trying to whip up a different kind of hysteria. Perhaps, that is his way of saying that he does not believe in compartmentalizing this country into Hindus and non-Hindus but wants to instead, carry everyone together in the same boat. He has tried to hard sell the idea that politics means development and progress for all, and favoritism towards none.
That way, the “puppy remark” was not a spur-of-the-moment response but intentional. What he implied with his controversial remark was that when even the death of a puppy under a car’s wheels brings grief; imagine the distress that any person would feel by the loss of human lives in the 2002 riots. Modi stuck to his “one nation – one people” theme and did not mention any particular community that had been traumatized by the episode. This seems to be the key to Modi’s Muslim conundrum. No matter how much criticism is heaped on him, Modi will not express regret for the loss of members of any particular community.
At the same time, he has been advocating his approach as ‘collective efforts’ and ‘inclusive growth’. He has been attacking the Congress and its allies for what he calls “divide and rule secularism” based on appeasing castes and religions. His approach, is to promote inclusive growth through economic development that benefits all irrespective of their caste or religion. On the other hand, the Congress and the UPA have focused their attack on Modi as anti-Muslim, anti-secular and as the kingpin of the post-Godhra riots in 2002. He is now being blamed for the Ishrat Jahan and other encounter killings by the Gujarat police. The 338 page CBI charge sheet on Isharat jahan encounter and testimony of Kishoresingh Waghela in page No 313 clearly indicates operation was cleared by Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
This has also created peculiar kind of choice before the voters. Many political pundits have started wondering whether Modi is falling into the Congress’s trap by allowing the Congress to reinforce his anti-Muslim, anti-secular image? Or is the Congress falling into Modi’s trap by giving him the benefit of headlines day after day and by allowing him to point out that the Congress has no choice but to appease minority vote banks?.
Amidst all this, Modi is attempting a paradigm shift through his message of equality for all and appeasement of none in Indian politics and this is the quicksand that the Congress and its allies are likely to walk into.
As the elections approach, political parties will try and outdo one another in reaching out to the general electorate and especially the minorities. As Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s adviser, author and ex-diplomat Pavan K Varma pointed out in a recent article, “One-fourth of Kerala is Muslim; 30% of West Bengal is Muslim; every fourth person in Assam is Muslim; 30 million Muslims live in UP; some 15 million in Bihar; every ninth resident of Karnataka is Muslim”. Every time the Congress, its allies and the other parties bend backwards to win these votes by offering sops to demonstrate their secular credentials, Modi will have a point to score as he has been advocating for a decisive shift in Indian politics from caste and religion and deliver good governance, development and economic growth that will benefit the smallest man on the street, irrespective of his caste and religion. (Continued)
(Posted on July 21, 2013 @ 3.00pm)
(Ajay N Jha is a veteran journalist from both Print and Electronic media. He is the President and CEO of WICS Global Communications. His email id is Ajay N Jha <ajayjha30@gmail.com> )
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