a. All politics is local.
b. Typical Indian voter has a very short attention span.
A Hollywood director and one of my favorites, Quentin Tarantino recently announced his latest movie, The Hateful Eight. He is not even done with casting and he has already put out a teaser trailer. This is to keep his fans and investors happy that work in ongoing on a movie which will get released in the end of next year. A very wise move if you think about it. There is a lesson in this for Modi Sarkar.
Ever since taking over the PM’s office, Modi has taken tough and right decisions in a timely fashion. He has shown sagacity, vision, clarity and political courage. But most of the decisions taken are the kind to show their impact in the long run. Dismantling of the Planning Commission and RTOs are bold and timely moves but do not impact the voters’ lives immediately. In NOIDA area potatoes are selling at over Rs 80/kg. A person struggling with prices of the most basic needs is not going to be impressed by what India may or may not become over the next decade. I had to reluctantly agree with Rashid Alvi’s criticism of Modi’s Independence day speech. While everything about the speech was groundbreaking and inspiring (what a welcome change from speeches we have come to expect from our PMs including Atalji) , what clearly was missing was any mention of the rising prices. Modi did everything right except what matters the most. Voters are willing to forgive a lot (sadak, bijli and paani). If I had heard any mention of plans to curb the prices in the same vein as other relevant issues, I would have rested easy knowing that a clown like Alvi will have no ammunition to attack Modi. If the government is unable to control the prices then they need to offer a plan along with a mea culpa. If they cannot do that then they can kiss getting a majority in the Rajya Sabha goodbye.
Now I do not know which of the ministers deals with the rising prices. If it is a financial matter then it is Jaitley. If it is criminal hoarding by dalaals, then it is the Home Minister’s fault. But at the end of the day, it is not Jaitley Sarkar or Rajnath Sarkar. It is Modi Sarkar. If his people cannot get the results then the ultimate responsibility lies with Modi.
There are a lot of things that can be done to show that the government is on the job and doing their best. A cursory read of our post on the matter (url below) will give you a sense that quick and visible results are important and doable. A smart and politically savvy man like Modi needs to realize that, forget the ballpark, governing India is not even the same sport as governing Gujarat. Just looking at the bigger picture while ignoring the details is fraught with political perils. He needs to produce fast or else his job is going to become very difficult.
Our post with suggestions about some quick results can be read at: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2014/07/modi-sarkar-needs-to-show-results.html
