Modi could not make a case for himself so far as the most accomplished, capable and honest leader in the country because he did not have the support of his own party. Selfish and corrupt in the BJP were (still are) afraid of his ascent. Clever political machinations took care of that and now after seeing Modi’s performances and strategy for 2014, even his biggest detractors have joined him. With his party by his side, there is clearly no stopping Modi. His quick wit, intellect (notwithstanding the comments by that Stephens educated elitist jerk Shashi Tharoor), oratory, warmth and ability to empathize with the poor (being poor himself unlike most of the Congressmen) is there for all to see. He has energized the voters and more importantly, the soporific BJP worker. It has been a long time since we have seen this kind of energy in the BJP camp. Everyone wants to work and more importantly do the right thing (as we saw in Delhi where Vijay Goel was pushed out in favor of an honest and capable performer). He really is bringing out the best in the BJP.
It is also clear from his approach, that Modi is no pushover like Manmohan Singh. He is a street fighter and a survivor and he knows how to win. This is why he is relentless in his approach. He is just the kind of man to take India to the next level. The voters are beginning to get a glimpse into the man and their reaction is unsettling Modi’s political and ideological enemies. Judging by their reactions, Modi is bringing out the worst in his enemies.
The reaction to Modi’s campaign is a mixed bag of the expected and the surprising. Reaction by Mulayam, Mayawati, Mamata, Sharad Pawar and the commies is not surprising and falls under the category of the expected. They all know that they cannot match Modi in accomplishments or oratory. Since they do not control the national security outfits, they cannot go after him on a personal basis either (like Congress is wont to). So they all are running towards the last refuge of the Indian political scoundrel – secularism (the popular Indian version i.e.). They know it is not going to work but their choices are limited.
The reaction of Nitish Kumar who until sometime ago was the elite’s favorite Non Congress, non Modi option. Of course it is now clear that Nitish read too much into the utterances of self proclaimed intellectuals of the left like Ramchandra Guha who called Kumar India’s answer to Obama. We all know what Kumar has done to be where he is today. What we did not know was the extreme personal hatred this man has for Modi? If Modi had been killed in those explosions, Kumar would have been culpable (if our judiciary were to be fair). Kumar has gone from an extremely strong position in his state to a government which can fall any day now. In reaction to Modi’s success so far, Nitish has essentially committed political hara-kiri.
I have always held that if you take out the Gandhi family and they poodles from Congress, we will have a real alternative to the BJP on a national level. The party has capable people who remain muzzled lest the Shehzada loses some of his so called sheen. However, these people must see that the Congress is an extremely confused lot with no ideology, capability and integrity and what is worse is that the entire voter base knows that. Repeated failures in state elections so far and projected failures in the forthcoming elections should have made it abundantly clear that the usefulness of the Gandhi family (which was to mobilize the Congress worker) has been exhausted and has been that way for the better part of the last decade. An experienced politician would not react to someone like Modi in the way Congressmen have been. Petty name calling, taking out their anger on the press (who by the way are the biggest reason why the Congress and the Gandhi family have been able to run such a successful con on the nation for the last decade) and trying to muzzle them, stopping opinion polls (now that they have turned against Congress), using state’s security apparatus in its relentless hunt for something to pin on Modi or Amit Shah is not the way to win the voters back. The way Rahul Gandhi goes around speaking makes you wonder if anyone has written his speech or some genius thought that it was better if the Shehzada spoke extemporaneously. And then you have these so called educated people like Jayram Ramesh and Shashi Tharoor and their statements. Rational statements rather that petulant angry outbursts are expected from an IIT / Carnegie Mellon / MIT (being an ex IITian, I know of these places and the kind of student Ramesh must be) graduate like Ramesh. Right now he sounds like he wants to please Madam by shouting the loudest and meanest.
Shashi Tharoor has attacked Modi’s lack of formal education. I am not surprised. He is a St. Stephen’s graduate which is school famous for churning out leftist bhoora sahibs rather than true blue contributors to the Indian GDP. Formal education and actual ability have little to do with each other. Surely Tharoor has heard of Bill Gates. A Gujarati businessperson once told me that we do not get MBA degrees. We get people with MBA degrees to work for us. KarsanBhai Patel who runs Nirma is worth over a billion dollars has the same education as Modi and a lot less than Tharoor. Yet when it comes to contributing to India’s GDP, Tharoor is a nobody who marries rich for money. Manmohan Singh has a degree which he can be proud of but what has that degree resulted in? Judging by the economic mess that the country is in, Ivy League schools and Oxford need to recant their degrees from Manmohan, Chidambaran and Montek Singh.
Congress’ reaction to Modi tells me that they have no answer for the man. Modi is playing a game that Congress is trying to understand. Read the following quote by the Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu who wrote the Art of War, and you will realize that whether or not Modi knows about him, he clearly is the master of the art of political war. Instead of trying to pick holes in Modi’s knowledge of history (even their Modi has been proven correct), Congress would be well advised to formulate a strategy otherwise in their love and support for the Gandhi family, and they will lose something much more than the next general election – their identity.
“If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.”
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