THE TRANSFORMER

Prime Minister of India, the prime force that is determined to change the face of India

With every election triumph, it is apparent the BJPRSS combine has built an intimidating election machine: Congress is now in power in less than half-a-dozen states, suggesting the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah dream of a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ is not so far-fetched. And with their ‘take no prisoners’ approach, the hunger for even greater success in 2019 is no more unrealistic.

An unshaken belief in electoral invincibility has spurred greater risk-taking. In November 2016, Modi dramatically announced a decision to ‘demonetise’ Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. It may have been economically contentious, but it was also typical of the disruptive politics he has made his calling card. The decision was positioned as a ‘war’ on black money, giving the prime minister a moral edge and the applause of the poor. This is a constituency Modi has consciously targeted ever since Rahul Gandhi threw the ‘suit-boot ki sarkar’ jibe at him for wearing an expensive suit in his meeting with the US president, Barack Obama. In September 2016, the Modi government went ahead with ‘surgical strikes’ against Pakistan, this time projected as a ‘war on terror’ and further evidence of a muscular ‘nationalism’ keen to break with the past.

Critics believe Modi’s hubris will eventually be his downfall: lack of adequate consultation in major policy decisions will gradually pull him down. The marketing hype needs to be matched by more tangible results on the ground. Failure to meet promises on key issues like jobs and agrarian distress

could lead to disillusionment. The march of gau rakshaks and hate crimes against minorities could undermine the ‘sabka saath’ and law and order plank. The violence in Kashmir remains a festering sore and relations with China are worrisome. An emasculated opposition lives in the hope that with time, Modi, like many ‘supreme’ leaders before him, most notably Indira Gandhi in the 1970s, will eventually face the anger of an impatient electorate.

Truth is, for now, Modi is a divisive but alluring force, a pracharak who combines Hindutva nationalism with a good governance credo. His supporters see him as a far-sighted doer who is tough on corruption and an efficient karmayogi who works 18 hours a day; his critics view him as a fascist, authoritarian hypnotist who will balkanise society, undermine institutions and eventually capture the state. Modi is convinced he is a man of destiny, an Indian Deng-like figure who will change the country forever by dismantling the Nehruvian liberal edifice with his own idea of India. Predicting the future in Indian politics is hazardous. For now, though, what can be said with some certainty is that Modi has changed the nature of election combats: presidentialstyle leadership contests now have to be fought with an ever-increasing intensity on the maidan and in the media. Even in government, Modi is still on the campaign treadmill, still the political CEO-cum-event manager who wants to set the pace and claim to represent the aspirations of a ‘new’ India. He may have achieved the ultimate prize of being prime minister, but make no mistake, the ‘Gujarat ka sher’ is hungry for more.