My Opinion – What Has Changed In Indian Politics?

The Context

While watching the results of elections in UP (Uttar Pradesh), Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur I started thinking, what has really changed in Indian Politics? The ruling party BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) did clean sweep in UP and Uttarakhand. Of course they lost in Punjab badly to Congress. Goa doesn’t look good either. As far as Manipur is concerned it was the first time BJP contested elections there. So, with consideration they have performed well.

Now, like any other Indian I like politics (not doing but reading and analyzing it!). For last month or two months there were elections conducted in some place or the other throughout India. Some were for legislative assembly, some for municipal and some for local bodies. I observed the results of these elections keenly and found a trend emerging out of these elections results. I cannot say it applies at each and every place, but if you look at the results you will see that BJP is winning more than it’s losing. Of course they are losing at some places. But, they are winning so much that their lost is not getting much attention. At some places their gain is more than 100%.

I want to share a personal experience with you. I am travelling by cab for last 3-4 months everywhere I go due to my health conditions. During this time India has witnessed many municipal to state level elections, Demonetization, Surgical strike and much more. It’s my habit to interact with cab drivers on various topics. Most of it happens on politics. Every Indian likes to talk on politics. With full responsibility I can say that no one disliked PM Modi. There were some who criticized him. Some cabbies liked him too much. Some were rational. I sometimes played devil’s advocate to check their logic. But, I do not remember anyone who disliked PM Modi! With this context let’s try to analyze the changes in Indian Politics.

Brand Modi : Myth or Reality?

Anyone who follows Indian politics knows that PM Modi is simply the most popular leader of India. It does not mean everyone has blind faith on him. Also, not every fan/follower likes his decisions. Then we must understand why is he so famous and admired?

During Loksabha elections of 2014 Modi was looked upon as a very good alternative as a PM. He also had his experience of Gujrat under his belt. So we can give benefit of doubt for that election. Many said Modi wave has faded away after he became PM. But is it so? Recent elections prove it otherwise. Apart from Punjab and Bihar Bjp has won or did well in all state level elections. When it comes to local body elections numbers are staggering. It is becoming a bit habitual even to Bjp workers to get surprised by their own performances. Many say these were local elections and were fought on local issues.

I just have one question for them. Who do you think was main/star campaigner for Bjp? Simple answer is PM Modi. Bjp always had amazing leaders in the past as well. But nobody raised its credibility amongst people like Modi did. There are people who voted for Bjp just because they know Modi represents Bjp. In recent Pune Municipal corporation elections Bjp won 98 seats which I think even Bjp couldn’t believe at first. A TV correspondent rightly said that people don’t even see the names, they just click the button in front of lotus (Bjp’s symbol). Why this has happened? If one has to give honest answer it’s mainly because of Modi. Of course local leaders and other factors do play certain roles. But to make people vote Bjp in masses is Modi’s credit. Common people just like him and admire him across the board.

Critics say it’s all falsehood. Modi lies about his achievements. He plays poltics over religion. He is a divisive figure. But there is only one way to check whether someone is convincing enough or not in democracy.. Elections. Time and again Modi has won elections annd passed this test. If one accepts Abraham Lincoln’s theory about ‘You can’t fool all the people all the time’ then one must accept Modi is doing something right.

If masses like something or someone. They want to follow him/her. If people want to listen to you and they look up to you. If that thing or person never does anything that will hamper it’s image or reputation. Most importantly it works and gives results. What would you call it in classic corporate terms? A Brand. PM Modi is a Brand and it’s not a myth.

Why Elections Of 2017 Are Different?

Call it anti incumbency, lack of opposition, lack of leadership or Modi wave I can see changes in the patterns of voting. For a long time Indians were ruled by like minded parties which call themselves secular parties. People voted them to power due to some prime reasons

1) No other alternative

2) Influence of Gandhi family

3) Fear mongering among minorities

4) Vote bank politics

5) Unawareness

Now, contrary to racist New York Times and likes who want to believe that India is still snake charmers land, today’s India is much more informed, aware and educated. So the factors which I mentioned above are having lesser impact on people. It doesn’t mean there are no effects of these points but that’s exactly my point. The influence unfortunately has not vanished yet but fortunately I can see people rejecting them slowly and steadily.

The reason I want to focus on Elections of 2017 is simple, Modi government is now almost 3 years old and it is a good time to judge any government’s performance. Generally in any democracy first 3 years are spent in work 4th year in consolidating work done and last year in publicity for next election. Hence, it was good opportunity for people to judge Modi government. I am definitely calling it a verdict on Modi government’s performance, because that’s what Bjp projected during campaigns.

It became more important to carefully watch the results of these elections because of some radical steps and decisions Modi took. Demonetization, Surgical Strike, Jan dhan, Ujjwala, Swachh Bharat abhiyan etc. Even though there are still some unanswered questions about Demonetization it was hugely popular decision. Surgical strike made Modi a strong leader, Swachh Bharat and Ujjwala yojana gave a social flavor to Modi government’s outlook. Demonetization was the biggest risk PM Modi took. Before 2014 there were hopes but in 2017 it’s real public’s test which will prove if Modi Government is on the right track or not.

Also as Indian National Congress is losing popularity rapidly, local and state level political parties are getting burdened to stand up against Bjp. With some exceptions most are failing to resist Modi wave. The places where Bjp is getting defeated also show certain patterns and shifts in Indian voter’s psychology. Hence elections of 2017 become very important as a topic of study in Indian Politics.

Changing Trends In Indian Politics

1. Bjp is getting wide acceptance. Bjp was supposed to be predominantly a middle class high caste political party. With Modi’s emergence Bjp is getting acceptance amongst other communities including Muslims. Journalists and biased people still doubt it but election results prove it otherwise.
2. Anti Bjp parties are not doing introspection. As long as a democracy needs a stable and string leading party it needs a strong opposition. Unfortunately all the anti Bjp parties are busy blaming their losses on people and EVMs. Which is really a bad thing. Bjp needs good opposition. But neither of them honestly introspect why they are losing? None of them have have a face as credible as Modi and nobody’s accepting it. If you don’t accept something’s wrong you can’t progress. People can see through this and they reject those who are not willing to change.
3. Modi is becoming larger than Bjp. More Bjp projects Modi as their main star campaigner more he is gaining popularity. I am not saying it is wrong but eventually each and every election these days is becoming more like a referendum on PM Modi. Pundits must understand that with such weak opposition Modi cannot lose any election. Punjab proves it. INC projected Captain Amrinder singh rather than Rahul Gandhi and Congress won comfortably. So people can see which party is having better options.
4. People are thinking more. In today’s Indian politics nobody can take anybody’s vote for granted. 2017 elections are proving that people are coming out their political ghettos and voting whom they like. Thanks to technology everyone has a TV and radio or at least a phone with WhatsApp. So it is becoming increasingly difficult to misguide people and give false information. Newer generation judges everyone on their performance rather than the caste and religion etc. That’s why people who can’t see the reality are finding it difficult to accept that even minorities are voting for Modi (not Bjp).
5. Journalists and mainstream media is becoming irrelevant. Nobody needs a proof that majority of journalists and self proclaimed liberal thinkers do not like Modi. In some cases hate him. Most of the mainstream media TV channels and newspapers have overt or covert relationships with one or other political party. Hence in this age of information untruthful news gets caught immediately and people can see politics in it. English news channels want to believe they know what people think but in reality they absolutely don’t. Regional language media works on agendas rather than being objective. One question that made mass majority to disbelieve/discredit journalists and mainstream media is ‘Exactly what Modi did wrong?’
6. People’s priorities are changing. With all our bad habits and negative points it is 21st century’s India and not 80’s. Priorities of people have changed. May be in 80’s it was necessary to elect if contender is of same caste Or he/she is son/daughter of someone. But in today’s India the priorities are very simple but people are aware and aggressive about those. Economy today is more important than religion. Modi has successfully tapped this and is working in that direction. Demonetization, Jan Dhan yojna etc got a very positive resonance. People are demanding basic infrastructure, education, electricity and strong leadership. Wherever Bjp or allies failed to provide these they’ve lost like in Punjab and some local bodies.
7. Leadership and decisions are not overrated. People are fed of Congress style leadership where being son or daughter of someone was enough to be a leader and being close to a family can make you special. Especially 10 years of Manmohan Singh. With complete honesty I can say now that I never got a sense that India has a Prime Minister. I am sure many people today think the same way. In current political spectrum there is not a single leader like Modi. There are CMs and party heads but none of them speaks like a statesman but Modi does. People today can see it and it’s a big change.
8. Image matters! Yes it does. I have already proved that Modi is a brand. I have no doubt that PM Modi knows it. Being a 100% he knows importance of image in a business more than anybody else. Modi runs government like a CEO. He works hard, there are rumors he works 18 hrs a day. He is a tech savvy, well mannered, well spoken yet masculine leader. Modi always speaks like a statesman, takes responsibility as well as credit for his deeds. He is loved by kids, youth, elderly people, men and women equally. His nationalist outlook has made him popular not only in India but also in Internationally. Modi knows this well that Image matters. Nobody in anti Bjp and nobody even Bjp today matches Modi when it comes to Image. So people look at him as their leader. Rather some idealize him as leader.

Even though I am a fan of Modi I don’t agree with all his decisions. Many times i feel he has too much faith on bureaucracy than it deserves. Many times he fails to control fringe elements and loose tongues within the party and the government. As I have mentioned above I do have questions about demonetization.

But being objective one must honestly accept the simple fact that the major change in Indian Politics is Narendra Damodardas Modi.

 

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions presented in this article are my personal views and opinions. I take full responsibility of those. This article must not be related to my employer, Autodesk in any way.

 

Main image source: Dainik Jagran