Narendra Damodardas Modi on Thursday emerged an electoral superman who stamped BJP’s massive win with his very own imprint, quite like a picture taken in portrait mode – where all else, including the party and its many leaders, recedes into fuzzy background.
Towering over India’s political-scape, the RSS ‘pracharak’powered the BJP-led NDA to victory at the hustings with his party alone poisedto win 300 of 542 seats. It will be the first non-Congress party to come backfor a second successive term, that too with such a resounding majority.
As he sealed his legacy as one of post-independent India’smost powerful leaders – described by the opposition as the most contentious anddivisive — Modi is the man mainly Hindu India has embraced.
The poster boy of Hindutva from Vadnagar, a small town innorth Gujarat’s Mehsana district, Modi was unstoppable as he transported theBJP to colossal success on a wave of muscular nationalism, majoritarian prideand charisma.
The 68-year-old, who takes pride in telling people about hishumble beginnings as a ‘chaiwallah’ has cemented a position in political history which could be greater thanwhat he anticipated.
The rise of Modi, who has overshadowed BJP stalwart AtalBihari Vajpayee, also shows the potential rewards for boldness, unorthodox approachand communication strategy blended with aggressive nationalism and the Hindutvaplank, making irrelevant traditional political considerations like caste,region, gender and demography.
Criticised for not meeting development targets and alsoadmired for political strategy, there was no changing the narrative he scriptedas he went about winning the election in the face of discontent against hisgovernment.
He stands head above shoulders over other leaders, in andoutside is party, with his powerful oratory that enthralled his audience,whether he speaks to them in rallies or at marquee events in India and abroad.But he never opened himself to questions by the media.
That mattered little to his supporters, who see himessentially as a “strong leader” who will not play the politics ofappeasement. It was under his watch that the 2002 Gujarat riots broke out,killing over 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.
Overcoming that controversial past, Modi gained wideacceptance abroad and even adoration in India, as he built a well craftedstrategy for a nationalistic approach, which coupled with BJP’s effectiveslogans like “Phir Ek Bar Modi Sarkar”, worked wonders for the party.
His campaign blitzkrieg swept away a fragmented opposition’sefforts to corner him. Modi’s last campaign speech in Khargone, Madhya Pradesh,promised “Ab Ki Baar 300 par” and he has delivered in shovelfuls, his exultantsupporters pointed out.
As he readies to take the prime minister’s chair for asecond time, it marks the culmination of a fascinating journey from an ordinaryRSS pracharak to Gujarat’s longest serving chief minister and then the primeminister.
It was a journey that began in the by-lanes of Vadnagar onSeptember 17, 1950. Modi was the third of six children born to Damodardas Modiand Hiraba Modi. The political journey began 35 years later in 1985 when Modi,an RSS ‘pracharak’, was loaned to the BJP.
He was a backroom party office-bearer and key strategisttill he was made chief minister of Gujarat to replace Keshubhai Patel inOctober 2001.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
He successfullyblunted criticism with the punchline — ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ (togetherwith all, development for all) during his five-year long stint as primeminister.
The four-time Gujarat chief minister came down hard on hispolitical opponents aggressively demolishing the opposition’s plank to labelhim corrupt and reaching out to voters through multiple platforms.
As prime minister, Modi ushered in a series of economicreforms, including rolling out of pan-India Goods and Services Tax andInsolvency and Bankruptcy law to effectively deal with insolvency andbankruptcy. He also has been hailed for the Swachh Bharat campaign, buildingtoilets, bringing electricity and cooking gas to remote and poor homes acrossthe country. Under his administration, India also saw the rapid expansion ofthe road network and modernisation of rail network.
However, demonetisation, a major initiative of Modi, hit theeconomy hard, triggering joblessness and a dip in manufacturing. As primeminister, he also could not fulfil lofty promises like bringing back blackmoney from foreign shores and doubling farm income.
At the same time, India’s position on World Bank’s ease ofdoing business index rose to 77 from 100 as result of economic reforms.
On the diplomatic front, Modi pursued an aggressive policypositioning India as a major global player and making efforts to bolster thecountry’s ties with countries like the US, Russia, China, Japan and the UK.
In his last 12 years as chief minister in Gujarat, Modiconsciously crafted an image of a man with an alternative vision of governancefor a country caught in a policy paralysis in the last few years.
With his development model as his campaign plank, he made aninstant connect with young voters, middle class and those in rural areasyearning for a change.Now that they have given the verdict, a giddyIndia waits for Modi to retake the oath of office soon.