The Indian Prime Minister has a towering presence in elections where personality politics rules roost
By Bikram Vohra (Poll Position)
Published: Sat 11 Mar 2017, 7:50 PM
Last updated: Sun 12 Mar 2017, 11:38 AM
There are two doors into the interpretation of the results of the five state elections in India. One, coalitions in the country no longer appeal to the electorate. People want singular entities. Two, the singer is still more important than the song and branding is of the essence.
There is a third angle. The tangible evidence of the great Indian divide. India is today split into two sharp camps: pro-Modi and anti-Modi. Not pro- or anti-BJP.
As much as his magic did not work in his deal with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab and as we can see Goa and Punjab are kind of iffy, as far as the cherry was concerned in Uttar Pradesh, Modi is the star. Fact is he has emphasised his singular position as a national leader and if one adds the showing in Manipur and Uttarakhand, which were also a romp for the BJP, it has to be accepted that the Modi factor is well, alive and pretty national in texture.
The nation still loves him, finds him credible and worthy of following; the demonetisation exercise has been accepted as a worthy venture. Modi is a messiah and his PR machine manages to generate a bead necklace of supra-special moments like his roadshow last week in Varanasi. He does strike a chord of hope in the common man that is still valid.
This victory also strengthens his hand for the Delhi civic elections and puts the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the back foot. The Kejriwal bandwagon has lost its wheel and is probably the most depressed entity after these results.
Personality politics are now central to Indian state elections, which really should not come as a surprise since this element is not new. The party cadres are secondary to Modi, Amarinder, the Yadavs, Sidhu, even Rahul Gandhi who is being trolled for the loss of face in UP but any call for his removal as the Congress leader will be muted now that Punjab has become the engine for the Congress revival. It has enough octane being a pivotal state and India's bread basket to create a national resurgence, if it delivers the wings for an 'Udtha Punjab' (reference to a film on the narcotic epidemic in the state).
The one interesting fallout of these results is the endless controversy, which will be created of whether Rahul Gandhi should stay as the Congress leader in the fightback from this moment onwards. If he can be damned so out of hand for the UP failure, it seems a bit unfair that he is denied credit over the states where the Congress showed its mettle.
While Modi might feel he has vanquished Mayawati, the Yadavs, Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi in one fell swoop, the little fly in the ointment is Punjab because the Congress hasn't been decimated and booted off the chessboard. If it had lost Punjab the party literally would have been over for a political powerhouse identified with nationalism since 1947.
Despite the white noise about Rahul and his abilities or the lack of them taking centrestage, the question the deserters from the Congress ranks who will now reconsider crawling back is whether the dynasty is their best adhesive and with the addition of Priyanka to the mix is the Gandhi label still their best bet?
After all, who else will hold the 'hail, hail, the gang's all here' together?
Chidambaram? Manmohan? Tharoor? Why not just run with the Gandhis and sell the Punjab victory as a shadow of things to come.
Even as the Congress tries to build on its Punjab triumph, the BJP is now tasked with the responsibility of making a success of UP by way of governance and calculable result. UP is a fractious and very volatile state. With no opposition of any sort to the Modi colossus the absolute power it has won could be a detriment.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely and blinds one to all reality. If it fails to improve things by attacking crime, ending gang wars, reducing casteism and balancing the Hindu-Muslim stress factor the Modi magic will have to be more than sleight of hand and silver tongues to get things cleaned up. Akhilesh, Daddy Mulayam and Mayawati will make an unholy trinity to upset this applecart. UP will be impatient and expect miracles even making unreasonable demands.
Sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for because when you get it you might find it overwhelming. Landslide victories tagged to one person come with their own tensions and you know the mud that slips down in landslides.
It also makes it no different from the Congress dynasty and the 'brand' is what will be on the top of the totem pole for every state election in the future. Former prime minister Indira Gandhi eclipsed the Congress party, but Modi hopefully will be a lot more savvy and avoid the same abyss of becoming bigger than the base.
Only he knows that winning UP with such a huge margin could be a burr under the BJP saddle without an opposition to create a healthy system of checks and balances.
Time to celebrate? Yes. Time to get to work.most definitely. For all of them.
Bikram Vohra is a former editor of the Khaleej Times
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