Abki Baar Modi Sarkaar
The campaign for 2014 general elections for 16th Lok Sabha started with a tag line Abki Baar Modi Sarkaar which literally meant: 'This Time Modi Government'.
Modi'selection campaign for the BJP had three layers. First the issue of corruption and promise of development, Second emotive appeal against appeasement of minorities and third was his personal charisma. Another advantage with BJP was a grass root level cadre which is developed and managed by RSS and NGOs which do not involve with politics and are engaged in social work across India. This grass root level support ensured that every voter reached the polling booth. It is not a small feat. Look at bye elections of 2017. In Gorakhpur where the election percentage in main election was 69% fell to 39% in bye election and BJP lost. Needless to say that RSS did not involve itself in this bye election as it does not involve in any bye election.
BJP released it's manifesto which covered a wide range of issues ranging from economic growth to social sector problems. The focus was on improving the country's economy and infrastructure, ending policy paralysis and curbing widespread corruption.xxxviiiSee http://www.bjp.org/images/pdf_2014/full_manifesto_english_07.04.2014.pdf In short the BJP promised to deal with stupendous inflation (price rise) and corruption while promising e-governance and transparency in governance.
Narendra Modi was the star campaigner for BJP and held rallies numbering just short of 200 in covering slightly less than 300 constituencies.
Narendra Modi was General Secretary of Bhartiya Janata Party and in 2001 became Chief Minister of Gujarat. He took office of CM on 7th October 2001 and demitted it on 22nd May 2014. As Chief Minister he took out three successful election campaigns for the BJP. Inspite of his repeated electoral success, he was most criticised politician of India and his achievements trivialised by press in India and abroad.xxxixSee https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/a-rebirth-dogged-by-controversy-2357157.html A journalist called the electorate naive by their 'voting behaviour' in electing him as Chief Minister of Gujarat for a third time.xlSee https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2321023013482789
Another interesting fact, as pointed out in last chapter was that in 1990, India had launched a massive Election Reforms which changed the face of elections in India, forever. The fact that for the first time in 2014, a party won majority in last three decades, which coincided with electoral reforms needs to be noted with emphasis.
Technology
Modi is a lover of technology and is never apologetic about it. BJP resorted to use of technologies including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the election of 2014. The competing Congress was no match.
The use of technology for election campaign was not new. In 2004 elections, BJP used 'Phone calling' and SMS to contact voters but it did not help in winning. The computerisation process of the BJP started in 2010, when it appointed Arvind Gupta an Electronics undergraduate from IIT-BHU and an MBA and MS (Computer Science) from University of Illinois, USA as it'sIT consultant. The Digital Campaign of 2014 was a culmination of his efforts started in 2010.
The election campaign of 2014 was defined by the best of multimedia technologies. Holographic videos or live feeds of 3-D videos of Narendra Modi were used in nook and corners of every locality to simultaneously deliver his speeches.xliSee https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/10803961/Magic-Modi-uses-hologram-to-address-dozens-of-rallies-at-once.html
All this may not have been enough but the experienced Congress leader Mani Shanker Aiyer delivered the master stroke for campaign. Upon being asked about chances of Narendra Modi becoming Prime Minister, Aiyer remarked that there was no chance and "Narendra Modi could come and sell tea near Congress Office, if he liked." This launched the real campaign of Modi.
Immediately, the Modi caught the slogan and started "Chai par Charcha" or "Discussion on Tea". Now tea parties were held in every locality in which Modi will address the people through video conferencing on a large screen, put up for the purpose. It was a grand success. More successful then the pre-recorded holographic speeches.
Showman Modi
In 2014, most political pundits in the country had ruled out the possibility of a single-party majority in any future election, saying the era of coalition governments is going to stay in India for ever. This view prevailed from 1996. However people of India proved the pundits, wrong and provided a decisive mandate to a leader who could usher in a new regime of a stable government at the Centre.
"India delivers a clear mandate to the Hindu party," read the headline in the New York Times. "Modi victory heralds new era for India," pronounced the Wall Street Journal. The London-based Financial Times kept it simple—"Modi sweeps to power in Indian election."
There is no acknowledgement greater than the admission by the bete noir. Ram GuhaxliiA graduate in Economics from Delhi University and a Management Graduate of IIM Calcutta, Ram Guha is an author of books like India after Gandhi, Gandhi before India, Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948 among others. He is known for his closeness to the Gandhi family, recently admitted:
"We live in a time when Narendra Modi is poised to become, and perhaps already is, the third most successful prime minister in Indian history. He is the only one you would place on par with Nehru and Indira in terms of authority that he exudes and the pan-Indian vision he commands……………..Since Nehru and Indira there has been no Indian prime minister who has had that authority, that sense of command, that charisma, that cross caste, cross-linguistic, cross-regional appeal in India."xliiiRam Guha speaking at the ongoing London School of Economics (LSE) India Summit 2017 in New Delhi, See https://www.livemint.com/Politics/6nPScKqmYnXi3gpcnyzkQO/Narendra-Modi-set-to-become-Indias-third-most-successful-PM.html
Uday Balakrishanan, a columnist from a left wing newspaper, too has compared the election campaign, the girth and the result of Modi in 2014, similar to that of Nehru in 1951.xlivSee https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/modis-nehru-moment/article22995526.ece
Modi too has his unique attires. He campaigned in his unique colourful half sleeve kurta and pyjama now nicknamed Modi Kurta. On the origins of the 'Modi Kurta' he explained in an interview:
"My work with the RSS and BJP not only meant excessive travelling, but also uncertain and punishing schedules. And, as someone who always washed his own clothes, I realised that washing a full sleeved Kurta was tougher and more time consuming so I decided to cut his Kurtas into half sleeved ones."xlvSee https://www.narendramodi.in/when-simplicity-becomes-style-the-story-behind-the-modi-kurta-522798
Thus the half sleeved 'Modi Kurta' was born! Modi has been called a fashion leader, and his clothing choices have been discussed internationally.xlviSee https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/08/08/is-modi-indias-best-dressed-prime-minister-ever/ Later, Barak Obama when he visited India, referred to a news paper headline back home and called Modi as a fashion icon.xlviiSee https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/06/06/heres-what-narendra-modis-fashion-says-about-his-politics/ Modi himself commented on his style and stated that "God has gifted me the sense of mixing and matching colours. So I manage everything on my own. Since I'm God gifted I fit well in everything. I have no fashion designer but I'm happy to hear that I dress well."xlviiiSee https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/03/17/modi-says-his-fashion-sense-a-gift-from-god/
According to a view published in New York Times, in India never before has there been such a strong convergence between what a politician in India stands for and his clothing. It summed up the style of Modi:
"...One: Mr. Modi's choice of a kurta underscores a cultural image that is "100 percent India." Two: it is democratic — anyone can dress in the same way. Three: it supports local industry. Four: it differentiates him from his political rival, Rahul Gandhi, who favored simple white shirts to counter his family's status as members of India's elite, and who also came from the tradition of westernised Oxbridge dress. Five: this in turn underscored Mr. Modi's humble beginnings (he was the son of a tea seller), as he does not need to pretend to be humble; he can embody upward mobility…xlixSee https://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/narendra-modi-a-leader-who-is-what-he-wears/
In the run up to elections of 2014, what nobody anticipated was the Charisma of Narendra Modi. Though everybody expressed astonishment on his party winning a majority for the first time in 30 years.
Modi did not stop, after elections and his rallies continued abroad. First at Madison SquarelSee https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/PM-Narendra-Modi-enthralls-a-rapturous-crowd-at-New-York-Citys-Madison-Square-Garden/articleshow/43748827.cms in New York. Help of Indian Embassy was apparent and it did help build a different perception of India and it's democracy, in USA. It was a display of soft power of Indian diaspora which is largest in the world. About 3 Crore persons of Indian origin live in different countries of the world. Modi continued with such overseas speeches in almost all the countries where he visited.
There is no admiration greater than imitation. After initially criticising Modi for addressing Indian diaspora abroad, Rahul Gandhi too started holding such speech sessions abroad, after a few years. The result of such events was at best ambivalent. Aping does not always work but it is best form of flattery.
When BJP lost state elections of Delhi and Bihar next year, TV studios predicted it to be the end of the world for Modi and dubbed the victory of 2014 as fluke. But now when we look back, those elections results stemmed out of very high expectancy from the new Government besides other factors.
Modi displayed his show man spirit time and again by road shows in Ahmedabad at night which accompanied light show. On other occasions he would hold cultural events like dances on nook and corners of along side road show, for the foreign dignitaries visiting India and Ahmedabad.
It was the height of display of when he hired a seaplane from Australia to fly from Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad. It was a display of what future holds for India. It is a different matter that Green Tribunal refused permission to such flights between Delhi and Agra, as stated by his cabinet colleague.
While elections of 2019 are yet not announced, the rallies of Modi have started in which he is already presenting his report card of accomplishments of five years. The opposition is yet to wake to tell what they did but they are busy in showing their unity and strength. Opposition seem to have forgotten just one thing: 'the citizens', who have to take decision as electors.
In an interview of Modi on 1st day of (January) 2019, he was asked if the Modi-wave is weaning and that is the reason for loss in the states like M.P., Rajasthan and Chhatisgarh? Modi retorted that the question presupposes that there was a Modi-wave, as it can not wean if it did not exist.
Of course it was not the charisma of Modi-wave, alone but it is important to know as to how a person who was not even a member of Parliament of India, came to lead it as the Prime Minister of India. It was not the first time and it is not the last time that the charisma played a role in success. It has always worked. What is Charisma? Lets study this phenomenon called Charisma.
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