DESTINATION DELHI: 2014

The Sun goes down, the Stars come out

And all that counts is here and now

My Universe will never be the same

I'm glad you came.

          Narendra Modi is the new rising star on India's political firmament. From a humble tea seller to merchant of development aiming for the country's top job. Not everyone gets this far in a lifetime. His immediate destination is still distant but indefatigable Modi continues to soldier on with a missionary zeal. Till the other day he was just among a select band of chief ministers who have made their mark for good work in their states. But sudden developments in his party seem to have given him, to borrow Rahul Gandhi's phrase, "Jupiter's escape velocity" and positioned him in the higher orbit of national politics. 

         

          His advent on national stage, though, was met with stiff resistance and open hostility in his own party as many senior leaders in the party considered him a 'gate-crasher' and were not ready to play second fiddle to him. After weeks of bickering, bad-blood and back-room maneuverings, on 13 September 2013 he was finally handed over the baton and anointed as party's prime ministerial candidate for 2014 General elections, much to the relief of its well-wishers. To his credit, Modi has taken the new responsibility in right earnest and lost no time in galvanizing party workers and supporters. Starting his blitzkrieg from Haryana, in less than 6 weeks, he has addressed over a dozen huge public rallies, attended by lakhs of enthusiastic supporters at Rewari (September 15 - Ex-servicemen rally), Bhopal (September 25 - Karyakarta rally), Trichy (September 26 - BJP Youth rally), Delhi (September 29 - Vijay rally), Kanpur (Oct 19 - Vijay Sankhnad), Jhansi (October - 25), Udaipur (October 26 - Janjati  Sammelan), Patna (October 27 - Hunkar ) and other places. He is literally all over the place. 

          Modi is like manna from heaven for BJP which had been in a "Waiting for Godot" like situation since the retirement of affable, statesman -like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and after successive defeats in 2004 and 2009. Modi's critics see him as divisive, opportunistic, vindictive, authoritarian, anti-minority and what have you. To his legion of admirers, he is a paragon of virtues and right choice to lead the country. Still to many others he is an efficient, development-oriented, incorruptible and strong leader. Whether you love or hate him, he draws your attention. He may not be comfortable in English, occasionally falters on facts, dresses rather too well and indulges in self-promotion but even his detractors concede his high- octane oratorical skills. He creates instant bonding with the audience and can keep them spellbound till the cows come home. No wonder within a short period of just two months nearly 5 million people are reported to have attended his massive rallies in a diverse country like ours. It is astonishing a veritable crowd-puller like him has few friends and is known to be a loner.

          His adversaries may not praise his model of development in Gujarat but how do you dispute its highest economic growth rate, low crime graph, excellent roads, 24 hours electricity to domestic feeders under widely-acclaimed Jyotigram Yojna. On these parameters, the record of states like UP and Bihar is extremely poor. If Gujarat was unsafe for minorities why thousands of unemployed including Muslims from these 2 states would go there to earn their livelihood. People can no longer be deceived by empty slogans of casteist, communalist ,family- fixated and self-serving  politicians. An average voter in this country wants job, low food prices, good infra-structure and security to his life and all these day-to-day necessities are, directly or indirectly, affected by corruption, the most efficient industry in this country run by a cartel of corrupt bureaucrats, crony capitalists, greedy politicians and criminals. 
    Unlike secularism which is a state of mind, corruption like poverty is a state of matter. It is seen, felt, heard and smelled by millions in this country in one form or the other everyday. Corruption was always there but in the last 4 years it has crossed all the limits and has acquired the form of a powerful Djinn which will hover around till the next election. Meanwhile, Modi's juggernaut rolls on.

          The cumulative efforts of apex court's activism, RTI, investigative journalism, brave whistle-blowers, sincere NGOs and vociferous activists has ignited public mind like never before and Congress is in deep trouble. If Rahul Gandhi had woken up after UP's debacle in  March 2012 (http://rksingh167.blogspot.in/2012/03/mission-2014-rahul-bhai-lage-raho.html), restructured his party, got popular bills like Lok Pal, Women reservation passed and taken effective measures to curb corruption his party would not have been in dire straits today. He had 20 months to fix things. At this late hour only a bumper crop, low inflation, speedy implementation of cash transfer, food security, and other welfare schemes and  favourable electoral tie-ups in UP, Bihar , TN and AP (accounting for 202 seats) may resuscitate his party's fortunes, though, Icons like Sachin Tendulkar may not help much.

          Coming back to Modi, his exertions so far is like a movie's trailer. The real show will start after December 8, 2013 when the results of assembly elections to 5 states would be out. Demographic changes in last 5 years have resulted in 378.6 million voters in the age-group of 18 - 35 years, 149 million first-time voters, over 380 million urban population and around 80 million active users of social media sites. A tech-savvy person like Modi will make optimum use of these factors to his advantage in the personality-based 2014 parliamentary elections. Modi's popularity among country's youth, full of hope and enthusiasm, is amazing, more so, as his main adversary is nearly 20 years younger to him. He would entice this young constituency with a seductive package of strong India --devoid of corruption, bustling with development and full of opportunities for them. This will be an offer very few would refuse in these tough times. It would be dicey,at the present moment, to predict the outcome of next elections but with Modi Effect a rejuvenated BJP can dream of 180 seats. A clean sweep in MP, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chhattisgarh may generate a Modi Lehar and fetch the party even 200 seats. Not Impossible.