When NDA lost the elections to UPA in 2004, Atal Behari Vajpayee told the media that the loss may be due to their improper handling of the Gujarat riots. Then Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. But then Narendra Modi was given the benefit of doubt. Communal riots used to happen in India almost regularly. So the citizens in general do not attribute all the damage to one person. Once the dust settles down, people forget things and move on. But for some strange reasons, the Gujarat communal violence was kept in the public view for a very long time. It’s not that other states in India didn’t have communal violence of similar scale but it was only Gujarat that the media and political parties decided to keep alive. Of course most Indians didn’t know what exactly happened in Gujarat but they accepted it as they did all throughout their history.
Now Modi wasn’t seen as a serious contender at the national stage. But the nation was looking for a strong leader. The lack of firepower in the UPA belly, unending corruption and shameless loyalty to a family wasn’t going well with the arising India. The Youth started to question and what they found in Congress was utter rubbish. I haven’t met a single fellow citizen of my country who was happy with the Congress rule. Raising inflation didn’t help the cause either.
On the other side there was RSS, one of the largest volunteer networks in the world. It’s no secret that Congress and RSS do not love each other. RSS on its part is largely a patriotic organization with a slight dislike for the appeasement policies of the Congress. And there is this huge Hindu Spiritual Movement in India with hundreds of organizations. The Congress, for various reasons chose to be silent on attacks on the Hindu religion and favoured many policies for the minorities. So much so that the patience of the many traditional Hindus was tested and they seriously looked for an alternative. And Narendra Modi was one leader who was acceptable to youth with his strong oratorical skills, charisma and a wonderful approach to development, businessmen cutting across sectors loved him for his bold decision making skills and the speed with which he did them, common man who suffered a lot under corruption and inflation found in Modi a new ray hope and of course the traditional Hindus were more than happy to accept Modi who promised them relief from all religious oppression. It’s amazing how one man was acceptable to a huge populace of India with their different inclinations.
Then came the elections, which the BJP approached so meticulously leaving no stone unturned. From what I heard, Narendra Modi himself supervised the name of each Candidate who contested the elections. Indian elections have been fought on caste grounds and Narendra Modi was too good a politician to overlook that sentiment. Tickets were mostly given to those candidates with a strong caste background and reasonably acceptable other skills. I can’t debate whether it’s the right thing to do from a democratic point of view but caste is a harsh reality in India. It’s rather sad on Indian Society than on Mr. Modi. You need not conclude that all BJP candidates were angels but they were the ones whom BJP thought stand the best chance to win and most of them did win. Narendra Modi’s relentless campaign will go down in the History as one of the most dynamic election campaigns that was ever attempted. For such a large geography as India, and to give an assurance to all the corners of the country that “Acche Din” will come under the BJP government, it was nothing but an herculean task and Mr. Modi did a remarkable job in that front. Probably post the JP Movement in 1970s, this was the first time India voted collectively hoping for a change, and Narendra Modi did win.
The fact that Narendra Modi is a democratically elected leader is a testimony in itself about his acceptance as a mass leader. But there are certain doubters who believe that he is fake. To them all that Narendra Modi does is fake.
Though it’s not necessary to give too much importance to such people, it’s always good to see if they have some truth in what they say. I had been to Gujarat myself and traveled quite a distance by both Bus and Train and got a ground picture of Gujarat. Gujarat is certainly no Singapore. But Narendra Modi has done appreciable work in his tenure. Improvement of infrastructure, new industries, supply of water and electricity to every corner of Gujarat and an improvement in the quality of government schools are some of his notable works in Gujarat. As such there is no strong reason to believe that he is fake. On the contrary there’s sufficient evidence to suggest that he is a man of action.
Ever since he has taken over as the Prime Minister of India, the nation has come together.. that is the first thing. There was this large gap between the Government and Indians.. Now that gap seems to have narrowed down. He is able to connect with everyone – Scientists, Saints, Businessmen, Children and sportsmen alike. He’s someone who seems to be deeply rooted in the Indian culture but with a modern outlook. Campaigns like Swacch Bharat and Make in India have been long due. It’s wonderful to see a Prime Minister who is able to take the country along with him. His own tune has changed for the better. He seems to have found a greater purpose and so do the Indians.