Larger Than Life - Modi is not just another politician; he is a phenomenon

Swapan Dasgupta
The Telegraph, 14 december

As he criss-crosses Gujarat gathering support in an assembly election that is increasingly turning into a referendum, the chief minister, Narendra Modi, has encountered a problem that most politicians would revel in: media over-interest. The state headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Khanpur, Ahmedabad, has been inundated with requests from countless media organizations demanding “exclusive” interviews. The insistence on speaking to Modi, even if it is only for five minutes, has not stopped at polite requests. At every public meeting, he is dogged by intrepid journalists demanding they be allowed to climb on to his campaign van.

Nor has it stopped at reporters. The charms of political tourism drew a clutch of high-profile corporate bigwigs and senior editors — they were put down as the “limousine liberals” in the BJP’s programme sheet — to Gujarat, forcing the chief minister to devote an hour to them after a late-night meeting in Rajkot. The interaction, predictably, centred on the “Muslim question”, which the liberal intelligentsia insist is what Gujarat is all about.

It was so different in December, 2002. I recall spending three full days with Modi on the campaign trail not because the helicopter was bigger or that he needed to woo me specially. It was just that there were hardly any takers for reports that involved actually rubbing shoulders with Modi. In the aftermath of the post-Godhra riots, he was an outcast — someone who had to be consciously shunned. The press conference Modi hosted in Delhi after his landslide victory was boycotted by a large number of journalists for the simple reason that they didn’t like the verdict.

In the battle for winning the hearts and minds of Gujarat or projecting the state to the wider world, the media have been a major player. The past six years have witnessed a collapse in the distinction between journalists and activists. While some have saluted the media for exposing the “dark side” of democracy in Gujarat, many have lamented the fact that the coverage in the past five years of Modi’s government has been woefully partial. It has been suggested that in its bid to highlight the tragedy of the riot victims and Modi’s imperious personality, the media have completely overlooked the near-revolution in the culture of governance in Gujarat. This may explain why the frenzied scrutiny of all aspects of the chief minister’s combative political rhetoric, including his controversial references to a terrorist killed in a false encounter, has coexisted with the dismissive disdain of his obsession with the economic development of Gujarat.

The present election is being fought on two parallel lines. Modi’s opponents — notably the Congress, the rebels from the BJP and the media — have sought to persuade people to vote along local lines. They have tried to build an aggregate of disparate disquiet which includes dissatisfaction with the government’s stringent action against power thefts, its disavowal of political patronage and the perceived grievances of a section of the dominant Patel community. Against this, Modi has sought to make the assembly election a referendum on himself — his style, his record in office and his ideology.

If the former prevails, the BJP will be at a disadvantage and the election results will vary from constituency to constituency. The verdict, in short, will be a fragmented one. On the other hand, if Modi becomes the overriding theme of the election — as BJP strategists have tried to make it — Gujarat may end up giving a conclusive mandate to Modi to govern for another five years.

The point to note is that Modi has a larger-than-life presence throughout Gujarat. He evokes sharply polarized responses. Those who admire him do so with a passion that has hitherto been reserved for pop stars and religious gurus. Those who are against him also hate him unreservedly. In the case of Modi, there is little scope for indifference or neutrality.

It would be unduly simplistic to attribute Modi’s appeal (or negation) to his Hindu face alone. That his invocation of Hindu pride is an important facet of his political personality is undeniable. When he feigns outrage over the charge of the All India Congress Committee general secretary, Digvijay Singh, of “Hindu terrorism” in Gujarat or rubbishes the liberal concern over Sohrabuddin Sheikh, he touches a chord among Hindus who believe that secular leaders take India’s majority community for granted. It not only contributes to his standing in Gujarat but is also a factor behind his significant pan-Indian appeal.

Today, Modi is India’s foremost political Hindu; he has completely overshadowed the ageing Bal Thackeray and the much mellowed L.K. Advani. If Modi repeats his 2002 victory, there is little doubt that opinion polls will record a sharp increase in the numbers of those who see him as the prime minister India should have.

Yet, there is more to Modi than just his Hindu face. He has successfully blended Hindu identity with regional Gujarati pride and produced a combination that his opponents find impossible to match. Gujarati pride in the state’s inherently dynamic and entrepreneurial personality has never been couched in separatist logic. For practical reasons, not least of which is the large Gujarati diaspora, Modi’s sense of regional pride mingles happily with robust Indian nationalism. He complements it with a whole-hearted endorsement of globalization, which he views as a phenomenal opportunity and not a threat. To this extent, he differs markedly from many Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP stalwarts who are attracted to Fortress India.

To add to his political appeal is Modi’s forceful personality. In 2002, Modi rode the crest of Hindu anger. He personified a phenomenon larger than himself. Five years later, it is the personality of Modi that has subsumed wider political impulses.

The image of Modi that comes through and which appeals to the electorate is a mishmash of boundless energy, administrative acumen, unimpeachable integrity and, not least, machismo. Modi’s appeal in Gujarat is inspirational and cuts across regions, gender, castes and generations. He is seen as a leader who has overcome fear and is not afraid of doing what he thinks is right, even if it involves treading on the toes of his own party. He has made enemies inside his own party and in the wider sangh fraternity because of his stubborn refusal to provide special accommodation to political friends. Ironically, these attributes have added to his public appeal and created a halo around him.

There are certain unwritten rules of politics over which there is a national consensus. To many, these have enhanced the quality of Indian democracy. To others, the consensus is stifling and has prevented India from realizing its true potential in the world. Modi is not a corporate CEO as some have made him out to be. He is a consummate politician who has detected a constituency impatient with bullock-cart capitalism and a slothful approach to development. He has preyed into Young India’s sense of impatience and the natural Gujarati urge to succeed.

Modi is not just another politician; he is a phenomenon. Whatever the outcome of this week’s election, his name is certain to reverberate throughout India in the coming years. The editorial classes, like the symbols of old money in Ahmedabad, may nurture an aesthetic dislike of his brashness and his refusal to genuflect before the holy cows of society, but they will no longer be able to ignore him. Moditva is certain to alter India’s landscape dramatically.