So Modi is back, a bigger, stronger version of him I must add. It was a clean sweep, something that may be even BJP didn’t expect. I am no fan of Modi, but I was impressed by the way he carried out his campaign and went on to win the election. During the campaign there was an aura about him. The entire focus was Narendra Modi. The Gujarat election was all about one man. Like him or hate him, he was everywhere. Even after the “Merchants of Death” comment, Modi remained unperturbed. The allegation played in his hands and became stronger. Modi had a master plan for the campaign while Congress was clueless and disoriented. There were no local leaders being promoted. They were busy preparing the stage for the national leaders. Leaders like Solanki and Vaghela were forced to take backstage as people kept wondering who would become the chief minister in case they came to power. “Denial is a dangerous soporific.” And if the 2007 Gujarat assembly election results have shown anything beyond the obvious — the obvious being the overwhelming mandate given by the people of Gujarat to the performance of Chief Minister Narendra Modi — it is that the Congress has been yet again caught sleeping. Congress had little to speak beyond Modi bashing. At times they seemed to lose the plot completely, and sounded out of sync of their own words. The mandate of Gujarat was also a reflection of the dominance Modi has. Even without the support of BJP veteran Keshubhai Patel, and the RSS backing Modi managed a thumping majority, which left the Modi critics baffled.
Modi was a one man show in Gujarat. All other leaders of the BJP seemed irrelevant. He is a tremendous orator. The way he can swing the audience with his words is astounding. He gets the crowd emotional. Once emotional, the votes are already won. Because once your heart takes over, you are no longer in a position to think. This is where Modi hits hard. In his speeches he used one line often, “do you want Modi to be your leader? Then vote for BJP”. It was as if the local BJP candidate was a mere formality on the face of democracy. While Modi was swinging the votes to his favour the Congress filled the stage with people who could not even speak fluent Hindi leave alone Gujarati. Modi went on making claims of development (much of which was exaggerated) while no one was there to counter him. Modi played the right mix of hindutva and development. He made the right noises at the right places. It was a master at work.
What implications does this victory have at the national scene? Nothing significant. For BJP there are two noteworthy points. One it will give them a confidence and a much needed boost to an ailing party. Secondly, there is a headache in the name of Narendra Modi. Now that Modi has got the confidence of the entire Gujarat virtually, it means he can make more noises at the BJP Headquarters, something that old Advani would not want to hear. Congress has no worries at the national scene due to this loss. I have always believed Congress’ tactics are much suited at the national level, while they have not yet figured out how to win states. What Congress needs to correct is their failure in implementing the Common Minimum Programme and not their loss in Gujarat, the rest will fall in place. Personally, Mayawati sweeping UP elections is a bigger worry than Modi claiming Gujarat.
To sign off I would just like to add that Modi deserves all the accolades for the way he carried his campaign and returned to power with a thumping majority. But I wonder had Congress had a better plan may be we would have had a different result. May be this article would have sung praises for someone else.
