Both supporters and opponents of Narendra Modi feel mesmerized by the media blitzkrieg that the BJP has unleashed in order to create buzz around ‘Brand Modi’.
The BJP has turned the present election campaign into a US style presidential campaign where one person takes the centre stage and it’s the candidate whose charisma and persona becomes the pivot around which all debates are conducted.
BJP’s opponents have denounced the attempts of the party to focus excessively on one person and they have pointed out that India follows Britain’s Westminster model and not the presidential model of US.
Modi is asking the voters to make him the ‘chowkidar’ so that he could guard public money with all the honesty and integrity. Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, says that all powers can’t be handed over to one person.
The question is- why has the BJP opted for presidential form of government and will it work for the party?
The reality is that for the BJP, there was no other option than to switch over to the presidential style of campaign especially when the party was desperate to storm back to power after sitting in opposition for 10 long years.
The selection of Modi, despite stiff opposition from veterans like Advani and Sushma, as the PM candidate and then centering the entire election campaign on him was a well thought of strategy by the party and its ideological fountainhead RSS.
Modi’s opponents may charge him of acquiring larger the party image but the reality is that it’s not Modi but the BJP grass root and RSS who want him to come across as the only savior for the nation.
And there are valid political reasons for this. Let’s try and understand this.
Everbody knows that BJP had been largely a North India centric party with little base in eastern, north-eastern and southern parts of the country. The party has virtually no presence in large states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka was the gateway for the party in southern India but they created a mess thanks to Yeddyurappa and the not- so- fair role played by Hans Raj Bhardwaj, the Governor who made life difficult for the Lingayat strongman.
Now here was a scenario wherein the party was desperate to control south block but lacked effective organizational structure in politically crucial states.
The party had only one person who they could use to reach out to these areas. All the opinion polls and media reports were suggesting that Modi’s popularity had transcended regional and linguistic barriers and Gujarat’s success story was being debated even in the interiors of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh although his party, the BJP, was yet to strike the imagination of the common man in these areas.
The people across the country seemed to appreciate the perceived strong and decisive leadership traits of Modi. Modi had succeeded in doing what the party could not do since its inception in 1980. And therefore, in order to grab the attention of the hoi-polloi cutting across the barriers of caste, creed and region, Modi was first elevated and then projected as the central figure of BJP’s election campaign.
And this is the reason why astute politicians like N Chandrababu Naidu of AP, S Ramadoss of Tamil Nadu and others have willingly joined hands with Modi although they have nothing in common with the principles which the BJP as a party esposes. It’s Modi’s charisma and his track record on good governance that has galvanized them towards Brand Modi.
Modi’s political opponents charge that he has the tendency to sideline other prominent leaders of the party the way he did it in Gujarat. The accusations may have merit in context of Gujarat but as far as his projection in general elections 2014 is concerned, it’s primarily the compulsion his party.
Narendra Modi may be accused of practicing sectarian politics, especially in the context of Godhara burnings and consequent riots of 2002, but he will be not the only one, if he becomes PM, who went ahead with aggressive posturing and still came out with flying colours.
Modi will be joining the league of Valdimir Putin, the president of Russia and Shinzo Abe, the PM of Japan, who were also accused of playing sectarian politics but stormed into power with massive popular backing. Like Modi, they also advocated free market economy with focus on rapid industrialization.
And BJP is not the first party in India which has started believing in effectiveness of presidential style of campaign or governance.
It should be recalled that the Congress party was seriously mulling over switching over to presidential form of government when Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, emerged as the most popular politician of India.
It is said that late Vasant Sathe, senior Congressman, had actually proposed that India should switch over to presidential form of governance but it failed to find favour with other political parties.
Today, BJP believes that Modi’s persona can provide cover for its organizational weaknesses in large parts of India and help the party storm back to power and that’s why they are focusing on a presidential style campaign. In today’s political scenario, it suits them the best.
Make no mistake, RSS is supporting Modi’s elevation and larger- than- party projection not because they are in love with him. It’s just that RS is aware of the geographical limitations of the BJP and they believe that it’s only the ‘Brand Modi’ that can conquer these barriers and catapult the BJP into the corridors of power.
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