A BURST OF SAFFRON

AFTER A FAMOUS VICTORY, PRIME MINISTER MODI UNVEILS HIS VISION FOR A NEW INDIA. EVERYTHING HINGES ON HIS ABILITY TO DELIVER

The prime minister and his party get a ringing endorsement as the BJP sweeps UP and Uttarakhand

IIn his moment of great triumph, after the BJP’s landslide win in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was already thinking far, far ahead. Not just about general elections in 2019. But the next generation.

A day after the results, which saw the BJP capture power in all but one of the five states that went to polls, Modi told rapturous supporters at the party’s headquarters in Delhi: “I see the election results in the five states as the foundation for a New India—a New India of the dreams of 65 per cent population of under-35 youth and of uniquely aware women groups. A new India in which the poor are looking for an opportunity to do something, instead of seeking something.” Lest it be viewed as a slogan for his re-election campaign, he clarified, “I don’t live by election calculations. My target is 2022, not 2019—2022 will mark 75 years of India’s Independence. We have five years to contribute to change India.”

Those who have worked closely with Modi say that he not only means what he says but does what he means. And being among the most social media-savvy leaders of the world, he says and does most of it on his website. The same day the prime minister’s website uploaded a new app that urged people to take a pledge that had shades of Martin Luther King Jr’s famed ‘I have a Dream’ speech. It called for citizens to be a part of the ‘New India’ that “will be powered by the strength of each and every citizen of India, an India driven by innovation, hard work and creativity, an India characterised by peace, unity and brotherhood, an India free from corruption, terrorism, black money and dirt.” All this by 2022, when India completes 75 years of Independence.

If one presses the ‘Take the Pledge’ button it goes to a page which has the hashtag #IamNewIndia and lists the following pledges to be ticked: stand for a corruption-free India, increase cashless transactions, work towards Swachh Bharat, ensure a drugs free India, encourage women-led development, protect nature and natural resources, support those with disabilities, work for shanti, ekta and sadbhavana (peace, unity and social harmony) and be a job creator, not a job seeker.

His critics, and there are plenty, trash such proclamations as another example of the silvertongued Modi peddling fresh dreams to the Indian masses and pushing the arrival of his promised achhe din to 2022. But even the worst among them will acknowledge that Modi has now emerged as the dominant bull in India’s political landscape and whatever he pledges to do has to be taken seriously. Few politicians in recent times have achieved Modi’s electoral feats—winning an absolute majority for his party in the 2014 general elections and then delivering a smashing victory in the country’s most populous state mid-way through his term.

Yet, even as he addressed a larger constituency, Modi was conscious that the electoral success in Uttar Pradesh demanded that he focus his energies on the new responsibilities it posed. Ever the pragmatic idealist, a day after Holi, Modi told senior officials who congratulated him on his victory: “We have a much bigger commitment because both Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are not among the best-governed states. We have to make a difference and it is a challenge to everybody.” The prime minister was acutely aware that with expectations soaring he had to deliver

Modi must lay down a roadmap of his new India vision, fix firm delivery targets

across the country. As an official put it, “We have a huge agenda with all that has been announced so far. It will have to be implemented. The recent electoral wins will enable us to do this with even greater commitment.”

Those who know him well say that celebrations for the big electoral victories in the civic polls in Maharashtra and Odisha were as muted. “My entire focus and passion is on the development of the country, not on such victories,” he reportedly told an aide. A senior official says the prime minister is not one to go about pursuing bold reforms as a consequence of the assembly polls results. As he puts it, “For him, reforms is an everyday process. But the wins in the assembly polls, particularly in UP, have convinced him that he is on the right path. He is now 100 per cent sure that he must stand more and more for the poor.”

FOR THOSE WHO worry that Modi will now turn sharply left of centre and indulge in rank populism, such fears may be unfounded. As an expert put it, socialism is not in his DNA. Though the vision of the New India that Modi talked about is yet to be fleshed out, there is a clear understanding that the prime minister is moving away from a subsidy and dole culture.

The prime minister’s call to the youth to be job creators rather than job seekers is another indication: he wants the nation to move away from the culture of dependence on government jobs and begin the process of ending reservations based on castes and communities. In his victory rally speech, Modi said, “The poor of the nation have discarded the mentality of liking a leader only because he has been given something. The poor want to progress by the dint of their hard labour. He says you create an opportunity for me, I will work hard and grow.”

In his interactions with partymen and officials, Modi is fond of narrating an analogy used by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, the leader revered by the RSS and whose 100th birth anniversary is being observed this year. Upadhyaya talked of how if someone who didn’t know swimming fell into a well and asked for help, comforting words would be of no use. One has to pull him out of the well to save him. But the person in trouble also needs to reach out, use his strength to be saved. Modi believes the government’s role is to provide a helping hand to pull India’s poor populace out of the well of despair. But in doing so, it must ensure that the person being supported is also trying to help himself, rather than become totally dependent.

As a start, to ensure that doles and subsidies reach the intended recipients and to plug leakages, the prime minister has employed what is known as the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity. Using financial inclusion (250 million bank accounts were opened under Jan Dhan), biometric identification (Aadhaar cards) and mobile penetration, the prime minister has been able to achieve a mini revolution in the way subsidies and doles are being disbursed to the poor. The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system has ensured that subsidies are delivered directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries, plugging leaks and pilferage. Under the DBT, over Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been transferred to more than 320 million beneficiaries spread across 84 schemes and programmes.

Nowhere is that more telling than in the distribution of subsidised LPG cylinders in the country. Close to 15 million people who could afford to pay for cylinders heeded the prime minister’s appeal not to avail of the subsidy. That itself resulted in an annual saving of Rs 1,800 crore. Then through the DBT system, where the subsidised amount is deposited in the bank accounts of claimants, the government was able to discontinue 34 million fake connections resulting in enormous savings. Under the PM Ujjwala Yojana, the government also provided over 15 million BPL (below poverty line) families gas connections waiving installation costs and giving the first cylinder free of cost. It was one of the main reasons why many women in UP, where a large number of BPL families benefited through the scheme, backed the BJP.

Modi’s vision of a new India by 2022 and his re-election as prime minister, however, hinges on how well he delivers in the over 100 schemes that he has launched. Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Aayog, points out that Modi has shifted focus from inputs and outputs to outcomes. The prime minister chairs Niti Aayog meetings on a quarterly basis to check the progress of all the schemes and apply remedial measures wherever they are slipping up. Says Kant, “Apart from his tremendous vision, his ability to constantly innovate, his willingness to take strong decisions, the prime minister is also a details person and uses technology to leapfrog development.” Yet, it is the bureaucracy that has let down Modi the most, along with the thin bench strength in his cabinet. For the more high profile programmes, it may now be wise for Modi to induct top drawer professionals to execute them. The UPA government brought in Nandan Nilekani to deliver on Aadhaar cards, and the success of the programme is evident. Modi must lay down a roadmap of his new India vision and fix firm targets for implementation.

More important, however, is how much employment these schemes will generate to mitigate the job famine that has afflicted the economy despite the comparatively healthy growth rate. Leading economist Rajiv Kumar points to what he calls the 3 Ds or deficiencies that he thinks the prime minister should address. Top on his list is to energise the thrust of the recent Union budget

BJP is now a hegemonic party in national politics and Modi the preeminent leader

towards affordable housing. The Centre would have to work with states and private operators to accelerate the tender process, minimise costs and ensure quality construction. The target is ambitious: 10 million affordable houses by 2019. Even if half of that is met, it would create a large amount of employment.

KUMAR ALSO ADVOCATES that the government permit FDI in multibrand retail, which could prove to be a massive job multiplier. His third prescription is to improve the sluggish investment climate and boost manufacturing. For that, the prime minister has to bite the bullet and deal with non-performing assets (NPA) in public sector banks. Modi has so far been careful not to recapitalise these banks because of the fiscal deficit and concerns that he would be letting the fat cats off the hook. Kant believes the Mudra scheme, which has already funded over 20 million small businesses with low cost loans, would boost the rural and informal sectors and provide employment. The Centre is focusing on the highly labour intensive textile sector, where it has announced a major package of reforms. Modi will also have to deal with rising farm distress.

On cleansing the nation of corruption, as the electoral results show, Modi has received widespread approval. He seems to have weathered the storm of demonetisation successfully despite the hardships it caused to the weaker sections and also the damage it did to the economy. If the poor have reposed faith in Modi, it is because they believe that the rich have finally got their comeuppance. But in his remaining tenure, Modi has to use big data analytics to track suspicious financial transactions and ensure that large amounts of fresh black money are not generated. He would also have to do this without allowing tax terrorism by officials entrusted with the job.

Modi’s call for shanti, ekta and sadbhavana is laudable. So far, the prime minister has not fallen into the trap of aggressively pursuing the Hindutva agenda of mandir, uniform civil code and abolishing Article 370. He has instead remained focused on development issues—the plank that won him the 2014 elections. To his credit, the prime minister has learnt rapidly on the job. When he was accused of running a suit-boot sarkar by Rahul Gandhi, he moved swiftly to develop a pro-poor and pro-farmer image that robbed the Congress and Left parties of their major plank. Then he appropriated the anti-corruption plank from AAP through his demonetisation drive. In doing so, he also pulled off a massive social experiment that pitted the mass of the poor against the minority rich, fetching him rich pickings at the hustings. Modi’s latest thrust on developing a ‘new India’ is being seen as a clever ploy to win over the youth and women, thereby expanding his support base exponentially as 2019 draws near. His recent stunning electoral successes has seen analysts even draw comparisons between Modi and such Indian political greats as Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.

So where does Modi now stand in the pantheon of Indian leaders? Political analyst Yogendra Yadav believes that Modi has ensured that the BJP is now the hegemonic party in national politics. His definition of hegemony is power with legitimacy—Modi now enjoys the brute power of popular endorsement. In terms of leadership, Yadav says Modi is ready to take the position last occupied by Indira Gandhi. The prime minister has been able to sell his narrative successfully and convince people that he stands for national interests and is above the partisan battles that parties fight for.

Shakti Sinha, director, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, who served as A.B. Vajpayee’s private secretary, believes that Modi is not an incremental or status quo leader but one who is “transformational”. Unlike Vajpayee, Modi believes in a hands-on control of governance. In terms of vision, Sinha believes that Modi is closer to Nehru than Indira. If Nehru visualised modern India, Modi, flush with electoral success, is now projecting his vision of a new India. He is striking a chord with an Aspirational India.

Modi is also striving to break caste and community stereotypes and is willing to take bold decisions when it comes to selecting leaders. He made Manohar Lal Khattar chief minister of Haryana despite his Punjabi origins. He anointed Devendra Fadnavis as CM of Maharashtra avoiding the Maratha trap. And made Raghubar Das, a non-tribal leader, chief minister of Jharkhand. Yet Modi maintains a comfortable relationship with the RSS—almost a partnership— while ensuring that they have no veto power over his decisions. His critics point out that, in his core, Modi remains wedded to the Hindutva philosophy and warn that he will impose it at an appropriate time. They point to his silence when divisive communal issues are raised. Also, they fear that too much power may make Modi even more authoritarian.

So is Modi emerging as India’s new visionary leader, bestriding the country for years as Nehru and Indira did, or will he flatter only to deceive? Harvard psycholo-

gist Howard Gardner, in his seminal book, Leading

Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership, postulates that leaders relate stories integral to a society’s understanding of its life and mission. Gardner argues that a successful narrative depends on “whether the leader’s own actions and way of life reinforce the themes of a story that he or she relates”. He then goes on to enumerate the five qualities that are key to a leader’s success: the ability to construct and convincingly communicate a story; the capacity to embody the story in one’s own life; an acute understanding of one’s audience; the energy required to build and maintain a supportive organisation; and the skill to harness increasingly technical expertise.

MODI HAS ALL these qualities and more. In the 2014 elections, he successfully constructed a narrative that portrayed himself as one who could deliver the country from the economic morass it was in. His handling of Gujarat as a four-time chief minister was cited as a model of development. His own life was an example of humble beginnings as a chai-wallah and then personal sacrifices that saw him shun family ties and devote himself to organisational work in the RSS. Right through, he demonstrated tremendous energy and zeal to get work done using technology as an enabling factor (he did this even in his election rallies, remember the 3-D holograms of himself).

Gardner then talks of three kinds of leaders where such qualities are a constant: visionary, innovative and the ordinary. Ordinary leaders are those who seldom challenge the status quo and are content in empowering members so that the forward movement continues. He describes innovative leaders as those that take a latent narrative and give it a fresh twist to renew and transform society. In contrast, visionary leaders are rare. Gardner defines a visionary leader as one “who is not content to relate a current story or to reactivate a story done from a recent or remote past. This individual actually creates a new story, one that is not known to most individuals before, and achieves at least a measure of success in conveying this story effectively”.

By that standard, Modi has certainly created his own new narrative and is on the cusp of being regarded as a visionary leader. Yet that endorsement from the people of India will come only if he wins the 2019 elections with a resounding majority. For the Opposition to deny him that pedestal, they have to do some hard digging, unearth how well or badly the century of schemes and programmes that Modi has launched are doing. A critical report card of Modi’s performance backed with hard facts will hurt his credibility and stature more than spending time working out caste and communal combinations to win electoral polls. If they have to oust Modi, they will have to come up with their own unique narrative of development and get the people to believe them. At the moment, Modi is unstoppable.