Neither Buddha Nor Modi May be defeated in Politics of demography!
Palash Biswas
Contact: Palash C Biswas, C/O Mrs Arati Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata- 700110, India. Phone: 91-033-25659551
Email: palashbiswaskl@gmail.com
http://in.news.yahoo.com/071223/211/6orqe.html
After a bitterly fought battle over two phases, Chief Minister Narendra Modi has emerged triumphant in Gujarat.Neither Narendra modi nor Budhadeb may be defeated in Dominance of Power. Media and Politics have deprived the Enslaved eighty percent bahujan indigenous peole of human and civil rights. Intelligentsia and policy makers are never interested to change the society as they themselves belong to the ruling Hegemony. Resistance and all exposures, campaigns are part of the dominance game of the ruling classes. the scenerio in Bengal and gujrat are identical. Sitaram Yechuri representing CPIM supreme seat, the polit bureau has branded this verdict as the vicory of Communal forces.While Marxist as well as the rightist fascist Hindutva forces are only two sides of the comradore corporate post modern Mansmriti order prevalent worldwide. ultimately the grand Hindu, Zionist White alliance wins. Psephologists, often getting the wrong end of the stick for their off-the-mark exit poll surveys, had predicted a BJP victory but none had given the saffron party the number it finally got.Modi as well as Buddhdeb are the greatest players of the politics of Demography. both these corporate, money, mafia, media Brands are iconised to promote MNC, Corporate Colonial so called neoliberal urbanisation and industrialisation annihilating enslaved masses.. gestapos of Buddha and Modi may be of different colors, but they are siblings, fostered by Galaxy Manusmriti order murdering indigenous peole world wide, snatching livelihood, raping Nature and violating all norms of humanity, civilisation, civil and human rights!
I had never doubted the success of Modi and Buddha. Because no body is interested to kill the graded inequality. Everybody is there to get personal milage from Divide and Rule. Majoritorian Electoral system never represents the people. This parliamentary democracy is nothing but ruling sets of castes, communities and minorities depriving the majority.
West Bengal Ruling class destroys the Bangla Nationality and bengalies worldwide to defend the interest of mere hundred, may be two hundred elite Brahmin families supported by Muslim Vote Bank! Marxists blackmail the Muslim psyche launching false campaign against Hindutva and Zionism, Imperialism and globalisation while, in fact , they are the greatest agents of all these evils. While Modi banks on false Gujrati Nationality and false Hindutva.
It is game, dear!The BJP won 117 seats in the 182-member state assembly, a tad higher than the NDTV exit poll projection of 90 and 110 seats for the party. The CNN-IBN-CSDS exit poll gave BJP 92 to 100 seats with Congress expected to notch somewhere between 77 and 85. Others were given three to seven seats.Pollsters became the object of ridicule in 2004 after they wrongly predicted a resounding victory for the then ruling alliance, NDA, led by the BJP. They did not learn and they are paid to launch misinformation campaign.The exit poll by Star News-Nielsen had forecast BJP would get 103 seats, while that by Zee News and C-Voter had given the party 93 to 104 seats followed by Congress at 75 to 87 seats.However, the Congress emerged as the single largest party in that year's general elections and cobbled together an alliance that formed a government with the backing of the Left parties.
In the results announced today, BJP-led by Narendra Modi bagged 117 seats to give the party a third straight term in power in India's most industrialised state.The minimum requirement for forming a government is 92 seats. Congress managed 59 seats, just 8 higher than 51 it held in the previous assembly.
The CNN-IBN exit poll had given Congress an edge in Central Gujarat and a near cake-walk for BJP in North Gujarat - two areas that were worst-hit by the communal riots in 2002.
Karat may become a good boy now: BJP
By IE
Sunday December 23, 05:06 PM
"Prakash Karat may become a good boy now".
This was how BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke about the CPM general secretary in the wake of the saffron party's resounding victory in the Gujarat Assembly elections.
The basis for the argument is that the 'ragtag' alliance of UPA and Left was formed because of the 'hatred' for the BJP and the saffron party's performance would make them close ranks.
"The hatred for the BJP is reinforced now after the polls," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
A beaming Prasad was of the view that the Left parties, particularly Karat, would now stop issuing threats to the Government and even allow the nuclear deal to pass under 'some pretext or other'.
Numbers say it all, Modi cast spell everywhere
By IBNlive.com
Sunday December 23, 06:48 PM
New Delhi: It all worked out perfectly for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the end of day.
The BJP has won 117 seats in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly and has secured an absolute majority. The party had won 127 seats in 2002 but the slight dip will have marginal impact on Modi's reputation.
The Congress has won 59 seats, just a little better than in 2002 when it won 51 seats. Congress ally NCP bagged three seats while one went JD(U) and two to Independent candidates.
Just 90 minutes into counting of votes in the battle for Gujarat, Modi's 56-inch chest got wider. He will be Chief Minister for another five years, and his critics can only grudgingly congratulate him.
Vote Share Analysis: South Gujarat
His combination of a development agenda, dumping as many as 40 sitting MLAs, taking on BJP rebels and ignoring potential allies like the RSS and VHP and a burst of shrill, emotive rhetoric towards the end of campaigning got him the numbers that beat all expectations. Probably even Modi's own.
"I thank the people of Gujarat for giving me the responsibility of governance for another term. The people of Gujarat have rejected negativism and given a positive vote " he said in a press statement.
Ultimately, it were the north Gujarat and Saurashtra regions of the state that put Modi in a commanding position. North Gujarat, which saw the worst violence in 2002, went almost wholly with the BJP.
Vote Share Analysis: Saurashtra
Counting trends showed that the BJP had beaten back a strong challenge from its own rebels in Saurashtra, where former chief minister Keshubhai Patel's influence was expected to cause major losses.
The Congress conceded defeat by 10.30 am, two and a half hours after the electronic voting machines were opened.
The party has made some gains—mainly in areas affected by the riots of 2002—but it was starkly obvious that its star campaigners Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi failed to convert crowds into votes.
And Sonia's merchants of death speech proved horribly wrong in the end.
In Delhi, the BJP central leadership was jubilant. It was the first major electoral victory for the party after the debacle in Uttar Pradesh.
Vote Share Analysis: Central Gujarat
As BJP president Rajnath Singh said: "We have won because of our ideology and Modi's development policies. He and his government had a clean image and worked for development. Under his leadership, Gujarat has emerged as a model state."
Vote Share Analysis: North Gujarat
NEWSMAKER - Narendra Modi shows he's unstoppable
Sunday December 23, 03:42 PM
By Rupam Jain Nair
AHMEDABAD, India (Reuters) - His supporters have little doubt that he is the true saviour of millions of Hindus, while his critics accuse him of being responsible for the slaughter of hundreds, possibly thousands, of minority Muslims.
The man himself, Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat who won a third term in office on Sunday, believes he is a messiah tasked with ensuring his state remains among India's most developed.
He is either adored or abhorred, held in awe or shunned as a pariah. But whichever way he is treated, Modi, 57, has ensured he is one politician India cannot ignore.
On Sunday, he showed why.
Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were forecast to have only a narrow edge ahead of Gujarat's Dec. 11 and Dec. 16 polls with Congress, which is in power centrally, snapping at his heels.
But the results surpassed expectations even of party managers in New Delhi, with the BJP winning or leading in 119 of the total 182 seats, compared to 127 in 2002.
"Narendra Modi has immense credibility with the people of Gujarat," said Arun Jaitley, a senior BJP leader and party strategist for the state. "Here is a man who is honest, he is obsessed with what he does, he is committed to the people."
That, however, is just one side of the image of Modi, a grey-bearded, bespectacled, fiery orator who has come close to becoming the rock star of right-wing politics in India.
Modi is a hate figure for Muslims and millions of secular Hindus across the country. He stands accused of turning a blind eye, and even encouraging, the killing of 1,200 to 2,500 people, most of them Muslims, in communal riots in the state in 2002.
The Supreme Court compared him to Roman Emperor Nero, remembered in legend as playing his lyre while Rome burned, and Washington denied him a visa for severe violations of religious freedom.
LARGER AMBITIONS?
"He has won this election through his oratory, his body language and absolute communal agenda," said Veerappa Moily, chief spokesman of the Congress party.
During campaigning, Modi initially chose to seek votes on a platform of growth and development.
But as the two-stage vote on Dec. 11 and 16 seemed to be getting tight, the gloves came off and Modi returned to his pet hardline Hindu themes.
Modi, who holds a master's degree in political science, began as a campaigner in the hardline Hindu outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the BJP.
He went on to become a BJP strategist in New Delhi and his commitment to the party's agenda and oratory skills saw him being sent to Gujarat as chief minister in 2001 after it was hit by an earthquake in which more than 20,000 people died.
While few Muslim victims of the 2002 riots got justice, Modi chose to focus on growth and development and even earned the praise of some of India's top industrialists.
Analysts are unable to agree on whether he has been praised too much within Gujarat or demonised excessively outside.
However, most agree that he seems set to play a larger role for the party, possibly at the national level.
"Why Modi has retooled himself as a typical, middle-class politician is obvious: he has larger pan-Indian ambitions," Ashis Nandy, a leading commentator and clinical psychologist, wrote in the Outlook magazine this month.
"His present incarnation, as part of the political mainstream, makes him less fearsome but more dangerous. In five years, he has a fair chance of making it to the top of his party at the national level."
Win or lose, Gujarat can never count out Modi
Sunday December 23, 04:51 PM
New Delhi: It's less than 24 hours to go to find out who will win the battle for Gujarat and pulses are racing all the way from Gandhi Nagar to Delhi.
In the party that started the cult of rath yatras, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi may have crisscrossed the length and breadth of the state in his rath over the last one month, but his journey is still not over.
His immediate destination maybe Gandhi Nagar, but his final frontier clearly is New Delhi and that is one reason why he has linked Gujarati Asmita to national security.
"Why are you so scared to discuss terrorism? Shouldn't India and the other countries discuss this problem? There are lakhs of people dying due to terrorism. Our forces are losing soldiers," Modi had told CNN-IBN during his campaigning.
It is through this tough talk that Modi has managed to convert himself from being a simple pracharak to almost a cult figure as he stresses on his macho image by pointing to his chappan ki chaati or 56-inch chest.
It's a point, which has already been noted by heavyweights in Delhi, and the one BJP leader who should feel threatened by Moditva is LK Advani. He knows that if Modi wins, his personal stature could get reduced within the Sangh Parivar. And which is one reason why he proclaimed himself to be the prime ministerial candidate on the eve of Gujarat polls.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also seems to believe that Advani is a worried man today. "Even the BJP is worried that Modi might win. That's the reason why Advani declared himself to be the PM candidate," he said.
So, could it be a Rahul Gandhi-Narendra Modi face off five years from now?
It's a realistic scenario if Modi wins on Sunday. It could lead to a total consolidation of the secular space as well. Either ways, the battle will revolve around only one man.
But if Modi loses, the BJP will have a larger problem. It will have to revisit the definition of Hindutva and put on a totally different mask from being the party that got catapulted on the national political stage courtesy the Ram Mandir agitation and rath yatras to a party that will have to look for a different leader and different political tools.
Modi's Victory: Portents for Indian Democracy
Ram Puniyani
Surpassing many predictions, Modi did very well in the recently held assembly elections, (Dec. 2007) bringing his victory tally to the one close to post carnage elections of 2002. While 2002 elections were preceded by an unprecedented polarization of the society, in the current one it appeared as if there are many a factors which will go against Modi, the internal dissidents, the incumbency factor, the efforts of secular groups and slightly better efforts by Congress. This gave the impression that the results will be touch and go, but they turned out to be similar to the previous one giving him a massive mandate.
This makes many a things clear for us. One, the polarization has seeped in very deep in the Gujarat society. The observation is that after every communal-violence, the major player of the violence, in this case, RSS affiliate, BJP, becomes stronger. In this electiona also, as was the case in the last elections, BJPs performance has been best where the carnage was maximum. In other parts of the country the polarization is reaching towards the critical line from where the rupture in fabric of society becomes irreversible. It seems that it has already become so in Gujarat. Gujarat which began as a Hindu Rashtra laboratory seems to be turning in to a factory of Hindu rashtra. One of the major success of RSS combine has been that it has been able to propagate successfully that Hindu Rashra is for the benefit of all the Hindus, there is a struggle between Hindu and Muslim interests, RSS is on the side of Hindus, while others are against the interests of Hindus. The real fact is that in the name of Hinduism, RSS is merely playing with the identity of Hindus and enhancing an agenda which is against the social transformation of caste and gender, which is against the interests of majority of Hindus.
Further it has succeeded in instilling the fear of Muslims in the majority community. The formula used is that all terrorists are Muslims, baying for the blood of Hindus and RSS combine is their only savior. The propaganda is that while so many terror attacks are taking place all over the country, the Hindus in Gujarat are safe due to Modi/BJP/RSS. The fact is in during NDA regime and also during the rule of Modi major terror attacks have taken place including the attack on parliament and Akshardham. This, so called attitude towards terrorists is projected by RSS combine as Nationalism. Nationalism as such should mean sticking to the values of freedom movement and Indian constitution. The second illusion created is that of progress of Gujarat. As such Gujarat was already amongst the leading developing states. Now it is being presented that all this is due to Modi. Goebells is being beaten hollow in the techniques of innovating the propaganda techniques.
Sometimes what matters is not the truth but as to what is propagated and made a part of social psyche. One cannot but draw many analogies from Hitler who went on to create a fascist state, and in due course do away with the democracy. This also led to the disintegration of Germany and its terrible defeat the World War II, rupturing the German national fabric. There also, one saw the charisma of one person overshadowing the party. There also the polarization was brought in and sustained by targeting one after the other community or social group. In Gujarat one sees the targeting of Muslims followed by the Christians. What will follow next will unfold shortly? The only difference between the German and Gujarat analogy is that in Germany the nation came under the impact of the fascist boots at a rapid pace in most of the parts of the state, while here the trishuls are marching at different pace in different states. In Gujarat the RSS agenda seems to have come close to the peak, while in other states, the march is on and is in different stages of intimidation of democracy.
The journey of Hindutva fascism in Gujarat began with the anti dalit riots of 1980-81, followed by anti OBC riots of 1986. Both these crystallized the support base of Hindutva, the upper caste, affluent sections. The NRI Gujaratis, the money order senders, played no mean role in consolidating the native fascism. The alienated NRI Gujaratis fed the local divisive politics with dollars and pounds, aggravating the divisive politics. Conscious social engineering was deployed to co-opt Adivasis and dalits into the Hindutva fold from late 1980s. For co-opting Adiviais, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram campaigned against the miniscule Christian missionaries and attacked the tiny Christian community. For co-opting other deprived sections, including dalits, intense religiosity was promoted, Pandurnag Shstri, Asaram Bapu and Morari Bapu etc. ploughed the ground for BJP to reap the harvest. Section of urban people saw the benefits of the type of intimidation brought in by RSS affiliate politics. While Muslims and Christians were directly hit the major goal was to subdue the dalts and Adivasis, to ensure that they remain where they are, that the status quo is maintained.
With Ram temple movement, the polarization along religious lines went on deepening. The state sponsored genocide on the pretext of Godhra sealed the issue. The laboratory took clear shape, all necessary instruments in place. The experiment began. Carnage was conducted with RSS affiliates playing the coordinating role. No rehabilitation for the carnage victims, no justice for those who suffered violence and then their gradual marginalization from social sphere. The relegating of Muslims minority as second class citizens has become an established fact and a section of Muslims even started the campaign to reconcile to their changed status. A large section of Muslims saw that the only alternative for them is to be on the bent knees, to join in the victory celebration of the murderer-in- chief of the genocide, which led to their miseries. Yes life has to go on irrespective! Some sheep are beginning to cultivate the illusion that wolf is their savior.
The indirect fall out of this was the eventual ghettoization of the community in Gujarat and its fall out all over the country was in the form of widening gulf between religious communities. It set rolling the similar phenomenon all over the country. While electorally BJP sounds weak at all India level, the seeds of communal politics and polarization have been sown all over.
While comparing the BJP/RSS politics with fascism in the decades of 1990 one was hard pressed to explain the absence of a charismatic leader at the national level at that time. Classically fascist movement has to have a charismatic leader at the helm. While Advani was spearheading Hindutva agenda and Vajpayee was wearing the liberal mask very cleverly, none of them had the requisite charisma to send the crowd into frenzy to call for the extra judicial killing of a criminal. Modi has filled the gap and that too very effectively. Not only he is getting away with justifying the fake encounter, he is able to project it as a sign of bravery and courage. With observations of Gujarat poll, with the type of charisma, which Modi has cultivated, the analogy with Modi-Hitler, Hindutva-Fascism is more or less complete.
History does not repeat it self in the same manner. In Germany Fascism rode all over Germany with uniform speed, with speed which was blinding, and went on to target Jews to begin with. RSS, the patriarch of all Hindu right wing organizations, began in 1925; it is from 1980s that is has been able to actualize its political agenda in a serious way.
While Modi's victory will pave the way for total abolition of liberal space in Gujarat, the party, BJP, has already been overshadowed by one supreme leader. Those dissatisfied with him are shown the door. The plight of minorities and weaker section is going to be worse. A section of affluent middle class will shine while the majority deprived sections' voices will be put under the carpet in the name of Gauravi Gujarat, under the slogan of development. And of course development will never reach them.
At national level, the rising communal forces will derive encouragement from this and in other states like Karnataka; BJP will try with stronger assertion. The BJP ruled states will strongly implement the Hindutva agenda i.e. emotive, anti minority and anti poor policies in a more systematic way.
Modi's victory is a warning signal of transition of sub critical fascism, transcending the critical line to strangulate democratic values in an ideological form all over the country. The disarray in the BJP will give way to strong optimism, to strive for power at center. All this may take place sooner than later if the secular movements do not wake up and broaden their reach. Even today those standing for secular values are much more in number and strength than those who have came under the spell of divisive forces, communal forces. The point is can they come together to ensure that the country does go in the direction being asserted by Modi/BJP/RSS type politics? Need that the vision of founding fathers of India is brought back to the social and political arena, that pluralism, justice and harmony is made the central focus of our movement.
BJP sees victory as a turning point in national politics
Mumbai (PTI): The BJP on Sunday termed the electoral victory in Gujarat as a turning point in Indian politics which will make BJP win the Lok Sabha elections.
The unprecedented electoral victory of the BJP in Gujarat is indicative of how it would fare in the Lok Sabha elections, party National General Secretary Gopinath Munde said.
"The victory indicates that BJP will get a clear majority in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections paving the way for party leader L K Advani to become the Prime Minister of the country," he said.
The Congress and its president Sonia Gandhi had made this election a prestige issue, but the people of Gujarat rejected them and gave an unprecedented victory to BJP and Narendra Modi, he added.
Former MP and senior BJP leader Kirit Somaiya said the Congress policy of appeasement of the minorities boomeranged and the people gave a clear verdict in favour of the saffron party for the fourth consecutive time.
TV actress and BJP leader Smriti Irani said Congress tried to play the communal card but it did not succeed. Modi talked of development but the Congress called him "Maut Ke Saudagar" which did not go well with the people, she added.
The Maharashtra BJP celebrated the party's victory in Gujarat by bursting crackers and distributing sweets.
Central agencies warn of assassination bid on Modi by LeT
New Delhi (PTI): Central security agencies have warned of an assassination attempt on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi by terror groups like Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and asked the state government to further tighten his security.
Official sources said intelligence inputs, both technical and human, suggested that militants were planning to carry out a suicide attack on Modi, who already enjoys the highest category of security, especially after he demanded the execution of the death sentence against Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal.
Central security agencies sent a communique to the state government saying terrorists were planning to target Modi at a public gathering and local authorities had been asked to keep a thorough vigilance on all those meetings.
Modi, who led the BJP to a record-breaking win in Gujarat assembly elections, will be sworn in on December 27..
An advance security check has been made mandatory for the police wherever Modi would be visiting, the sources said.
Modi is today one of those political leaders in the country who faces the maximum threat perception. The Centre has provided him with elite commandos of National Security Guard and the state government has its own state commando force, specially trained for this purpose.
An additional high-frequency "jammer" vehicle is likely to be added to Modi's carcade, a measure taken to block Improvised Explosive Device of almost all frequencies.
'Congress wasn't in the picture!'
Sheela Bhatt in New Delhi | | | |
| | http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/dec/23inter.htm | |
| | | | |  Advertisement | | | | | December 23, 2007
The Bharatiya Janata Party's election victory in Gujarat may have been on the plank of Narendra Modi's [Images] charisma, the promise of development and a curfew-free Gujarat, but the Hindutva issue has not entirely disappeared from the Gujarati mind. The Sarkhej constituency, which is virtually divided on communal grounds, has once again elected Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah by a huge margin of more than 235,000 votes. The constituency has communally charged areas like the Hindu-dominated Vejalpur and the Muslim-dominated Juhapura. In a telephone conversation with Rediff.com Managing Editor (National Affairs) Sheela Bhatt, Shah, above, spelled out the meaning of the BJP's victory. How do you analyse the BJP's victory today? The popularity of Narendra Modi, our stance on the issue of terrorism and the development work that we have heralded all over the state helped us win this election. Why is Modi so popular? He is honest. He is providing an efficient administration. Did you expect to win as many seats? We expected 12 to 15 seats more. We lost 12 seats only by around 500 votes. If the media had not written such lies about us, we would have won those seats too. What message does the BJP victory send outside Gujarat? We are sending one clear message: Political leaders and the government will have to provide security to people. Governments can't escape from taking tough steps. One can't be populist about it. You can't flirt with such serious issues like security. Where did the Congress make mistakes? The Congress wasn't in the picture! A national party cannot win an election riding piggyback on the rebels of the rival party. In BJP rebel areas like Surat, we have won four seats. In Amreli we have won six and in Kutch we have won four out of six seats. Keshubhai Patel's influence has been completely wiped out. Remember, the Congress contest only 165 out of 182 seats. We would have won Central Gujarat too, but I think the lies of the Congress through the media hurt our candidates. In the 2002 election, we had won seats in the Congress stronghold of Central Gujarat; maybe it has slipped back a little. However, we have lost by a very thin margin there. Where does Modi go from here? What remains to be done. He will rule the state. How about a role in national politics for him? I will have to ask Modi about it. Photograph: Rashmin Sondrawa
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| | | | | Advertisement | | | | | December 23, 2007
Rediff.com Managing Editor (National Affairs) Sheela Bhatt is one of the few journalists who called the Gujarat election accurately. This is the second election this year that Rediff.com's forecast has been breathtakingly correct. In May, columnist Nazarwala pooh-poohed the so-called mainstream media's predictions for a hung assembly in Uttar Pradesh and declared Mayawati and the Bahujan Samaj Party a clear winner. One of the best informed voices on Gujarat and Gujaratis for the last 30 years, Bhatt correctly detected the undercurrents in Gujarati society to inform our readers that despite the exit polls and surveys that claimed a close battle in the western state, Chief Minister Narendra Modi [Images] would emerge triumphant. Today, she examines the communal, social and personality factors that led to Modi's famous victory. Riding against all odds, Narendra Modi has won the election convincingly. In one line, the victory shows that it is a people's mandate for his personality. It is a clear vote for a person and leader called Narendra Modi. Like Lalu Yadav in Bihar and Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu, in Gujarat too, the leader is much above the party. THE EMOTIONAL PITCH This was one of the most-emotional elections that India has witnessed. Modi wanted this election to be fought on emotional issues and not on real issues. He assured a 'riot-free Gujarat' to all when there was no imminent threat of riots. His speeches sent the clear message, 'I am promising you Gujarat's progress, which will be free from communal tension.' His unspoken message said, 'Under my rule, disruptive elements, including jihadis, will be repressed by any means.' The Hindu majority in urban areas liked what Modi promised. The chief minister may have looked bold and fearless, but his election strategy was actually cautious and conservative. He did not let himself be trapped in idealism. He knew clearly that his development agenda could not by itself win him the election and that the anti-incumbency factor would corrode his electoral platform. Indeed, Modi's development message neither lacked clarity nor credibility, but he did not dare to dilute his own brand of Hindutva. He wanted this election to be fought on emotional issues and his theatrical and melodramatic performances were deliberately calibrated to sustain a high level of synergy between him and the public. It was a no-holds-barred war; Modi and even the Congress used, abused and relished all weapons available with them. THE PERSONALITY CULT Modi carefully built up his image. His photographs, his shampooed-conditioned hair, his crystal clear, anti-glare spectacles, his watches, his crisp kurtas -- everything was part of his package aimed at building up mass hysteria. Not many would comprehend that there is a wide difference between the perception of Modi in public life and his real self. But the public perception of Modi -� what he means to the people -� has so outgrown all else about him that it has become a reality. The real Modi (who is not counted as a hardcore Hindutva leader) looks pale by the side of the public perception of him, and may have become, arguably, pointless -� including, perhaps, for Modi himself. The real Modi has scripted a certain image of himself for public consumption. It was merely a strategy to win the election or garner influence in his party. And, what success he has earned in doing so! The media, unknowingly and knowingly, helped him. His last six years of power made his agenda easier. He got hold of resources needed for creating a wave for himself. In the era of television personality cults, it is not difficult to build up a public image if you know how the mindset in television newsroom functions. Modi's personality of being a macho man with a 56 inch-size chest, a leader who toils for Gujarat, a politician who will get things done in New Delhi and the Hindutva hero who will keep Muslims under control -� all these, each in its own way, has helped him win the votes of a majority of Gujaratis. People who are entrepreneurial and hardworking loved their chief minister who would attend office from morning till late in the night. Also, his decision to sack one-third of the sitting MLAs proved advantageous. He thus overcame anti-incumbency factor in a big way. THE ANTI-MODI MEDIA HELPED MODI In Gujarat many people wondered: "Look, how powerful is Modi. He can even defeat the media." Today, the common belief is that the corporate media wields power. And the media, too, has come to believe in its power. But Modi has punctured the vanity of the corporate media. He ignored the media barons. Modi is the first Indian politician to transcend India's corporate media. The result was predictable. He got so much bad publicity that the people started sympathising with him, concluding that he was a victim of the 'power-wielding' media. When the media delivered brickbats to Modi, BJP supporters gave him bouquets. His image of being a lone ranger also came in handy for Modi even as the media mauled him with epithets. The common man felt, "The poor fellow -- the media is just not allowing him to work for Gujarat's progress." The Congress's biggest mistake was to believe the anti-Modi propaganda. Some of it was actually planted by its leaders. They were trapped in their own web when they started believing the so-called logical arguments and not looking at the emotional fervour within the masses. BJP REBELS, A SPENT FORCE Modi's men always maintained that the anti-Modi brigade within the BJP, led by Keshubhai Patel, was a "spent force". Modi ridiculed the dissidents with confidence because he believed that the so-called Patel leaders, who were with Keshubhai, were corrupt and the people knew it. But he was careful to give tickets to Patels so that no anti-Modi campaigner could monopolise the Patel votes. Equally, he was careful to send the signal that he was not anti-Patel. Modi trumped the caste card by playing the caste card with elan. THE CONGRESS FAILED TO PROJECT LEADER The Congress, fearful of being overwhelmed by Modi's popularity, made the fatal error of not projecting even a weak leader under its banner. Fear does not win you power. The absence of a Congress chief ministerial candidate proved expensive. Modi filled up the vacuum by pitting himself against Sonia Gandhi [Images]. He has thereby raised his stature in national politics. In corresponding terms, Sonia Gandhi's stature was diminished once she found herself with no choice but to take on Modi in her speeches. When people are emotive, the local hero always has an edge over a leader, no matter how tall a figure s/he is in national politics, who cannot even speak the voter's language. Sonia Gandhi's speechwriters should be sacked for clumsy political writing. How can you keep talking about the issues people don't want to talk about? When one talks about the 'fear factor' in Gujarat, one is talking about the plight of Muslims. Certainly, that has to be an issue and it must be talked about in an election campaign. But you need credibility amongst the majority when you talk to them about the plight of the minority. Sonia Gandhi's usage of the phrase 'maut ke saudagar' has proved to be no less foolish than Rajiv Gandhi's 'nani yaad dilayenge' remark. After that remark, whenever Congressmen resorted to anti-Modi rhetoric, many Gujaratis took it to mean anti-Gujarat remarks. MODI EVOKED REGIONAL PRIDE Modi's cunning political acumen turned Sonia's wordcraft to work in his favour. He played his regional parochialism card astutely that anything said against him began to take on the resonance of being 'anti-Gujarat.' TRIBALS REMAIN SAFFRONISED The tribals of Gujarat took up the Ram Mandir issue after 10 years of hard work by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It seems the tribals want to remain connected with the Sangh Parivar. The Congress seems to have decisively lost the tribals of Gujarat to the BJP. MODI, A LIKABLE LONER Modi exudes raw energy. His behaviour, his speeches and style conveyed to the youth and women a direct compelling message: 'I am a karmath (doer). Come, help me to build a rich and prosperous Gujarat. See, I live alone without a family. You are my family. I don't enrich myself and I don't allow others to indulge in corruption.' This message in public was peppered by innumerable anecdotes, which have become the stuff of folklore -- that he writes poetry, he eats vegetarian food (mostly khichdi), he likes yoga and, of course, that he is a lonely soul.
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Modi defeats Dinsha Patel in ManinagarEarthtimes, UK - 1 hour agoAhmedabad, Dec 23 - It was billed as the battle royal, but Chief Minister Narendra Modi turned it into a cakewalk, trouncing union minister Dinsha Patel of ... | |
