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Opinion

The rise of the 56-inch chest

By: Santosh :+: Under: Opinion, Politics
On: ⋅ December 26, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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You’re not alone if Narendra Modi’s latest win in Gujarat has left you scratching your head.

Press “V” on your keyboard if Modi’s
latest win makes you nauseous
img: via BBC

How could Gujarat elect a tyrannical bigot whose government stood by and watched as minorities were being killed sponsored the killing of minorities? Let alone abetting the killers, how could someone who went around the state proudly highlighting these killings on his resume come back to power in one of the more industrious and educated states in the nation? How did the Modi government avoid the anti-incumbency vote which plagues most sitting governments in India? Count me among the perplexed.

But this blog post by Rajdeep Sardesai has a dispassionate and fairly unbiased dissection of Narendra Modi and the myths and realities behind Modi’s latest electoral triumph in Gujarat. [link]

Let’s examine some of the points Sardesai makes:
Myth: The riots of 2002 helped Modi.
Sardesai points us to the electoral results where the BJP actually lost a lot of ground in the riot-scarred areas and its primary opponent, the Congress party actually gained ground in the riot-affected areas. Modi’s party did well in rural and tribal areas, normally strongholds of its opponents which may have negated the lost ground from the riot-hit areas.

Myth: The Sonia Gandhi-Narendra Modi war of words had a profound effect on the election by polarizing the mandate.
Refer to previous myth.

Myth: Modi has prevailed in the face of strong competition.
This particular angle to the Modi story seems to be media-made as Modi has no real opponents in Gujarat. The primary opposition party, the Congress, seems to have no regional leader with the charisma to take on Modi and Modi’s own opponents among his party are either too old (Keshubhai Patel) or have been otherwise effectively dealt with (Gordhan Zadaphia).

Reality: Gujarat is a traditional stronghold for the BJP.
Referring to election results dating back to the early 1990s, Sardesai maintains that Modi and the BJP have traditionally done well in Gujarat barring 2004. That they should do well in 2007 should come as no surprise.

Reality: Brand Moditva has arrived
Modi somehow successfully managed to potray himself as a “protector of the prosecuted majority”. From trumpeting Gujarati asmita (self-respect) and Hindutva to projecting an authoritarian alpha male image - chappan ki chaati(the 56-inch chest), Modi seems to have successfully create his own brand with a mixture of religion, regional pride and rhetoric. This seems to have worked well for him in Gujarat, a Hindu majority state.

So should we be worried of Modi taking his success in Gujarat and projecting it on a national stage to the tune of becoming the next Prime Minister of India? Not so fast, my friend, says Sardesai.

Sardesai contends that Modi’s image is tailor-made for Gujarat, a fairly prosperous state with a strong Hindu base. India, as a whole, is far more diverse from a social, economic and political perspective and brand Moditva would not translate well across the country. Sardesai gives the example of Mayawati, who stunned political observers by convincingly winning Uttar Pradesh playing on casteist politics, but being unable to translate that success in other elections across the country.

To summarize - Modi’s current success can be attributed more to the lack of serious competition and the traditional support BJP enjoys in Gujarat, than Modi highlighting the 2002 riots on his political resume. Modi, however, as a brand seems to have arrived in Gujarat and even though, he may not be able to translate his success on a national stage has become somewhat of a factor. Whatever the reasons for Modi’s successes be, it does come across as unsettling to folks who don’t subscribe to the extremist brand of politics Modi excels in.

Thoughts? Opinions?

Other Über Desi referencing Narendra Modi:
Sunita Williams campaigns against Modi
Modi in Outlook’s list of top villains in post-Independence India

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