The Permanent Campaigner

Modi on the stump Part Two makes the elections in Maharashtra and Haryana a referendum on the Prime Minister

If he were risk-averse, Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have let state-level leaders of Maharashtra and Haryana or the BJP president lead the campaign in these two states going to the polls on 15 October. He could have opted to drop by for a morale boosting rally or two. Instead, he has taken upon himself the task of leading from the front, unmindful of any loss of face if his party were to do badly in these states. That confidence comes from a realisation that he can outwit any rival with words and verve. In a whirlwind campaign across the two states that account for 378 assembly seats, he has already attended 34 rallies, pulling in record crowds.

“There is something about Modi: he is extremely image-conscious, but is never shy of risking his own image for what he thinks is important,” says a senior BJP leader. Nothing seems to excite Modi more than being on the stump. A survey of his rally speeches reveals that he is many notches above his nearest rival campaigners like Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and mother Sonia, who seem to be missing in action, almost. The Modi campaign also brings to the fore the groundswell of support he enjoys for his various federal schemes. If ‘dynasty’ or ‘development’ was the underlying question in most of his poll rhetoric for this summer’s General Election, he has kept up his connect with the masses with newer ideas as well. The most recent of these is the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (‘Clean India mission’). “The truth is that he has several aces up his sleeve, and the opposition is still talking about the 2002 riots for which he has been cleared by the courts. Repetitive rubbish doesn’t help because you are confronting a formidable opponent who is miles ahead in the race. Our leaders must know this and compete with him on new issues to connect with people. Modi’s the face of this

campaign also,” says a senior Congress leader. He adds he has no qualms about praising Modi when he deserves it, and defends the similar stance taken by his party colleague and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor.

LONE WARRIOR

That Modi’s is the sole face of this round of elections—coming as it does after bypoll reverses in Uttar Pradesh and other states where he didn’t campaign—was evident from a visit to a village near Gurgaon, where a villager referred to BJP President Shah as “Modi’s close guy”. In a scenario where even Shah is seen merely as a Modi representative, it is no surprise that ad professionals began their poll blitz in right earnest across Maharashtra with huge banners of Modi and Modi alone. “This has never happened at this scale in politics in recent decades, when one man could steer a poll campaign. His image from the General Election is still intact, thanks also to his great performance in the US and other countries he has visited. He has emerged as Asia’s most powerful leader. How can a party not tap that image of a great leader in an election?” asks advertising hotshot Piyush Pandey, who has created TV, radio and print ads for the Maharashtra polls. Recall that Pandey had also steered the ad campaign of the BJP for the Lok Sabha.

A brief look at the poll campaign as Modi unsheaths his sense of humour and airdashes tirelessly to different locations shows that Modi’s stress on sanitation would likely have far greater impact, no matter what the poll outcome is. “It is impact in both the short and long runs,” says the Congress leader, “Other political parties had lost out on that count.” In fact, the CPM in Kerala is the only party that seems to have understood the threat of sanitation as a tool to mobilise mass support. In the wake of Modi’s call to clean India, which has been hailed by people across political and social lines, CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a lengthy article on the imperative of sanitation through use of new technology and other means.

“I must admit that Modi did capture the imagination of a vast majority of people by employing a political tool that Mahatma Gandhi himself had used once. Like in those times of Gandhi, now too the social revolution that the call to better sanitation can produce is huge. We have been in favour of this all along,” says a CPM Politburo member, betraying the frustrations of a Left agenda being successfully used by a right-wing Prime Minister.

HOW TO TRUMP CASTE POLITICS

Without doubt, Modi’s call for a clean India has elevated the status of men and women who perform this job for a living. Long looked down upon only because they clean the dirt of others, traditional cleaners such as scavengers suddenly got a boost of morale and self esteem. By enlisting support from the rich as well as poor for his sanitation initiative, Modi has neutralised the caste connotations of cleaning jobs. This is indeed a masterstroke from a person who had been under attack from leftists and political rivals who portrayed him as a danger to India’s social fabric. “On the other hand, he has hijacked the slogans of the Left and the secular parties, and they would, as the CPM Kerala leader’s statement shows, be left with no option but to come up with their own cleaning initiatives,” the Congress leader says.

Making the cleanliness drive a collective social effort is a far cry from the norms that have been in place in India, especially since 1947. It is quite ironic, but the post-Independence architecture of many government apartments in Lutyens’ Delhi had separate, dirty and dingy spiral staircases meant for the exclusive use of scavengers. They were designed to keep these cleaners out of sight and away from ‘civilised’ zones used by the social elite.

“What would so-called leftist intellectuals, who have missed no chance in attacking Modi for each and every statement he has made, do now? They have a strong belief that whatever this man does has to be made fun of or opposed. That frustration is on the rise, as clear from responses while he was on a visit to the US. He was supposed to make India look good abroad. And to say he did a good job at that would be an understatement,” says another Congress leader based in Kerala who does not want to be named because his party doesn’t share his views. Several Congressmen, including Tharoor, have been ticked off by party leaders for their pro-Modi comments, especially on social media. Tharoor had shot back at his critics saying they were selectively looking for his praise—rather than criticism—of the Prime Minister.

That a Twitter missive from Modi to Tharoor inviting the latter’s support for his cleanliness cause could create such ripples in the Congress has already aroused plenty of laughter. A section of Congress leaders concede that the absence of strong party leadership at the Centre has stirred resentment and despair within its ranks. After the Grand Old Party’s resounding poll setback in the Lok Sabha election, many of its leaders across states have privately been airing their bitterness at the inefficiency they see at the top echelons of the party.

THE MISSING OPPONENT

Rahul Gandhi’s reluctance to roll up his sleeves and campaign extensively this time round, according to many Maharashtra Congress leaders, can be explained by his dropping enthusiasm and the poor response his rallies have got.

In the absence of a rival campaign, the overall mood in poll- bound states reflects the appeal for Modi post his blockbuster visit to the US. Several foreign-policy experts have highlighted why the visit augured well for bilateral ties between the world’s largest and the oldest democracy. Strategy expert Uday Bhaskar was quoted as saying that “the relations between the two countries were hung. Prime Minister Modi’s visit has rebooted the ties”. For his part, Modi, now in a triumphant mood, has singled out pundits who had opposed the idea of his being Prime Minister before he was named the BJP’s candidate for the country’s top job.

The Gandhi in the picture, such as it is, has been generating goodwill for Modi, whose cleanliness drive was launched in honour of Mahatma Gandhi on his birth anniversary of 2 October. Actor Aamir Khan lauded the idea as visionary. Bill Gates found it revolutionary, especially the idea of talking about the need for toilets. President Pranab Mukherjee joined the chorus in support of Modi, suggesting that “every road, path, office, home, hut, stream and particle of air around us can and must be kept clean”.

Gandhi’s legacy, Modi seems to imply, belongs to no single family in politics. In both Maharashtra and Haryana, Modi dwarfs his rivals with by his high-wattage campaign, where he targets dynasties again. Maharashtra is home to the dynasties of NCP leader Sharad Pawar, the late Shiv Sena supermo Bal Thackeray, while Haryana is home to those of Bhupinder Hooda and Devi Lal.

“The Congress government in Haryana is associated with corruption, land scams and loot. A BJP government with a full majority will bring an end to this,” Modi declared on the campaign trail in Haryana. He reminded the multitudes attending his rallies of the various measures his government has taken to combat corruption, especially those aimed at eliminating corruption among lower-rung bureaucrats and other government officials. These include the self-attestation of documents, a great source of corruption in rural India, and of efforts to rid India of archaic laws that hurt entrepreneurs.

“With his huge persona, his rivals seem to have lost their sting,” says the CPM Politburo member, who mixes his grudging admiration with an old Leftist refrain: “I hope he doesn’t use his enormous clout in the Government to drive a wedge between communities.” In this, he seems to echo Modi critics and Left-wing columnists like Pankaj Misra who accuse Modi of peddling clichés and call him a deeply polarising figure.

A BSP leader who asked not to be named tells Open that Modi has had a significant impact on the self esteem of various social communities. Referring to the new-found status that cleaning staff would enjoy, he says, “The BSP loss in UP, where it won not a single Lok Sabha seat, is an eye-opener. It shows that with his Backward credentials and his statements and actions, he has been able to endear himself to those sections who now tend to look up to him as though he is their messiah.” That should put his rivals on their toes, but they seem too lethargic to do anything, as if slapped into inaction by poll debacles.

Elections, the BSP leader admits, cannot be held hostage to the whims of caste groups anymore. At the Lok Sabha hustings in Uttar Pradesh, the Modi-led campaign took apart caste- party linkages and caste-based barriers by winning 71 of the 80 seats.

DYNASTIES UNDER FIRE, AGAIN

In Haryana, known for caste crimes, police atrocities, nepotism and the excesses of crony capitalism, Modi has asked the electorate to vote against people who dehumanised and looted them. Modi has also trained his firepower at Sonia Gandhi’s son- in-law Robert Vadra. He asked the Election Commission to take “serious note” of the Haryana government’s decision to clear a land deal between Vadra and real estate firm DLF Ltd. At one venue, Modi received loud applause from the crowd when he said that after the elections, “the son-in-law will not get any clearances for illegal deals. So, in between the election process, they have dared to take such a decision”.

Besides the protection of women, an end to nepotism and freedom from caste violence, one of Modi’s key propositions to Haryana voters is the development gains the state could make if the state and Centre were to work together—enabled, of course, by a BJP majority in the Assembly. Consider what the Prime Minister said on 8 October, addressing a mammoth rally in Mahendergarh, Haryana: “Do we need a state government that starts vomiting the moment the Central Government’s name is mentioned? We need a government that loves the Government in Delhi, and at the same time, the Government in Delhi should also love the Haryana government. I want the Prime Minister and Chief Minister to work together. I believe in a Team India under which [they] both join hands.”

That pitch underlines the BJP’s confidence in Haryana, which has habitually voted for the party in power at the Centre. The BJP is in for a three-cornered fight this time between itself, the Congress and INLD. Besides the advantage of Modi’s decisive leadership at the Centre, the party is hoping to convert public anger against caste and regional discrimination into votes.

Such sentiments are high in villages such as Carterpuri Village, around 5 km from the Kapashera border after one enters Gurgaon from Delhi. The US President Jimmy Carter had visited this Haryana village on 3 January 1978 during his India trip, and in his honour, Chuma Kheragaon was renamed Carterpuri. For a few years, the residents of this village would celebrate 3 January as ‘Carter Diwas’. The celebration was dropped a long time ago. “We had expected that our village would be developed as a model village. But nothing of that sort happened and the respective state governments kept ignoring us,” says 57-year-old Atar Singh Yadav. 32-year-old Chiranjeet Singh Yadav offers a reason: “The government has only invested money in Rohtak, which happens to be the home district of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.”

Gurgaon, with its appalling civic infrastructure, is part of the ‘Ahirwal’ region, which has 18 Assembly constituencies and a dominant Yadav population. Winning this region is crucial for any political party that wants to gain power in the state. “Ahirwal is known for [its role in] the freedom struggle and contribution of soldiers for battles and insurgencies,” notes senior BJP leader Captain Abhimanyu.

The mood may be completely different in Rohtak, which owes its rise from a typical north Indian duty town to a city with modern infrastructure to Hooda’s rule. But, despite Congress claims of holding its own here, there are signs that winds of change may be sweeping this area too.

With dynasties under attack, and with the BJP running a well- organised campaign with a galaxy of central leaders addressing rallies throughout the state, the going is expected to get tough for regional satraps such as the Chautalas of the Indian National Lok Dal and the Bishnois (Bhajan Lal’s family). Bhajan Lal’s son and Haryana Janhit Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi faces his toughest fight yet. Bishnoi is fighting from his father’s traditional seat of Adampur, while his wife Renuka Bishnoi is contesting Hansi. Indications are that he is faced with myriad odds.

DYNASTY SLAYER IN MAHARASHTRA AS WELL

In this western state, which is witnessing a five-cornered contest with the two main alliances having split after the BJP parted ways with the Shiv Sena and NCP broke up with the Congress, Modi has brought up in his speeches the plight of farmers, fishermen and others who turned suicidal under a decade plus of corrupt NCP-Congress rule. The BJP hopes to make gains in this scenario through tie-ups with smaller outfits such as the Republican Party of India (RPI) and Swabhimani Shetkari. After ending its 25-year-old alliance with the Sena, the BJP has secured the support of parties such as the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh and Shiv Sangram as well.

In the meantime, the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and its breakaway MNS led by Raj Thackeray have both been blaming the BJP for creating a Marathi-Gujarati divide in the state. “If the BJP comes to power, it will break Mumbai from Maharashtra and take everything away from here to Gujarat,” the Shiv Sena chief has been saying at rally after rally. Clearly, it is a do-or-die battle for him and raking up regional sentiments is a last-ditch effort to retain influence in the state. Says former political journalist and artiste Prakash Bal Joshi: “An absolute majority for either the BJP or Congress will spell the death of regional parties like the NCP and Shiv Sena. If regional identities have to be kept alive, then the regional parties have to do tremendously well. For Raj Thackeray, credibility is a big issue, and if he does not do well, the MNS will be finished.”

Some observers see a similarity in the tactics adopted by the BJP and NCP. According to political commentator Abhay Deshpande, “The NCP withdrew support and pulled down the [state] government. The BJP imposed President’s rule in the state. Both the NCP and BJP wanted Prithviraj Chavan out of the Chief Minister’s chair—and hence the haste in deciding on President’s rule, and that too, at a time when the Prime Minister was out of the country.”

The BJP is hankering for an absolute majority in the Maharashtra Assembly, while the NCP feels that its former ally, the Congress, is now at its weakest and can be easily defeated. “Both the Congress and Shiv Sena have to prove that they continue to have mass support and have not been disconnected from the masses,” says Deshpande.

Social activist Vishambar Chaudhari is of the view that it is Pawar who stands to lose the most in these polls. His forecast is a tad different from common perceptions on the ground. “Uddhav will benefit the most, Raj will consolidate his position from the last polls, maybe even win one or two seats more from the 13 he already has,” he forecasts. “There is no threat to the regional parties from the BJP as this party has lost its entire cadre to the Shiv Sena in many constituencies. The penetration of the Sena is much more than that of the BJP.”

However, the Prime Minister has already made the state elections a continuation of his Lok Sabha campaign. He is betting that this would overshadow regional tugs and pulls to quite some extent at the hustings.

In the end, it is all about Modi on the stump Part Two, after a pause. For India’s Prime Minister, there is no difference between being in power and being in permanent campaign mode for the minds and hearts of India. Maharashtra and Haryana just happen to be the immediate provocation.

About The Author

Kumar Anshuman and Haima Deshpande