Modi is scary good, and that is a problem

A point of view that may interest those looking to the upcoming (2019) general elections in India

Scary good: So impressive and dominant that fear is struck into the hearts of all who oppose

When Modi came to power in 2014, there was speculation about his origins in the RSS and how that would influence the way he governed. It was panic stations for the liberal left. It seemed like doom and gloom for their vision of an inclusive and secular India. It is 2018 now, and Modi has won elections for his party in two states.  In the third - Karnataka - he won the battle but lost the war. Still a pretty decent showing in a Southern state where regional parties are significant players. For an incumbent prime minister in his third year, he has done pretty well.  

Jobs are not being created, and farmers are hurting – but all this has not hurt Modi sufficiently for the opposition to convincingly hand him a defeat in the hustings. The problem for left-liberals is that Modi is exceptionally good in moulding perception. Indeed much of his strategy from the day he was elected until now has been based on creating and managing optics. His public meetings in Madison Square Gardens had a vociferous non-resident Indian community eating from his hands, unquestioningly and devotedly lapping up every bit of rhetoric he delivered. Modi’s image men have successfully placed Modi in the pantheon of Indian political Gods. The tribe of baying bhakts that Modi fosters on social media is a tribute to his ability to pivot minds around a development agenda wrapped around a thinly disguised Hindu Rashtra mission. The development agenda is more posture than practice. Modi, even more than Indira Gandhi, is a master of Government by logo and tagline – Jan Dhan, Swachh Bharat, Sabka Saath, Make in India - a procession of Abhiyan's trotted out to soothe and satisfy.  Advertising professionals would do well to study his method. It seems to work. And when cleverly layered on top of a seductive “India will be great again” (pre-Mughal era great again!) message it becomes easy to persuade even the undecided that something good will happen.

The near miss for Modi in Gujarat and the coalition arithmetic that played out in Karnataka's assembly is being interpreted by India’s opposition as a hint of a chance for them to win in 2019. They are sadly mistaken. For one thing, the opposition is inept in its approach. They have consistently hammered the BJP on the Hindutva plank. This would have been a good strategy except that Modi is absent from this battlefield. He has wisely walked away from a battle he could not have won, even while leaving his bhakts on the battlefield to keep the opposition engaged! His silence on this topic is intentional! While his party and the Hindutva brigade on the street act as the lightning rod for criticism of the Hindutva agenda, Modi has intentionally distanced himself - for he pursues Teflon Hindutva, where nothing can stick on the BJP leadership. On the other hand, he has never missed a photo opportunity that frames him along with the vikaas agenda - his constant presence at ISRO rocket launches is an example. On this agenda, the opposition cannot oppose. The defanged opposition along with the left-liberal constituents of civil society keep hammering away at Hindutva without realising that the enemy is making strategic gains on a distant battleground.

Modi has taken the development high road. But it is not too late for the opposition to join the race here and overtake him come 2019. Despite heavy hitting initiatives on corruption and infrastructure Modi has been blindsided to the issues that the common man deeply cares about. The issues that affect the farmer, the daily wage worker, the traditionally oppressed, the small business owner, the poor and the disadvantaged. This nation needs high quality universal primary education and primary health care. This topic remains outside the scope of the middle-class dominated agenda that plays itself in the media each night. But this is the agenda that affects millions of Indians who vote. Joblessness and farmer distress are topics that could centre discussion in areas where Modi has done little or has failed. The opposition needs to create a credible development vision (beyond the high-pitched attacking rhetoric) that is based on issues with tangible impact for the voter. This may require the Gandhi's, whose charisma is wearing thin, to wait in the wings while talented Congress party workers (and there are quite a few) occupy centre stage.  

The opposition needs to draw the attention of the voter to the failure of the Modi government to find substantive solutions to some of these problems or even start addressing them in any meaningful manner. And the opposition must engage with civil society in creating platforms for the discussion of these issues so that their seriousness in applying themselves to finding workable solutions is projected into the minds of the voters. Through clever use of slogans and logos, Modi created a feel-good environment. But the failure to produce a positive impact in the life of the common man has led to a substantial erosion of this feel-good factor. Time has come for the opposition to strike. If the opposition fails, then Modi will easily coast to a victory in 2019. Five more years for Modi. This time, it is unlikely he will soft-pedal Hindutva. Scary good plus Hindutva would be a potent and undigestible poison for the country. The Indian voter is too smart to let this happen. Unless, of course, the opposition is too stupid to prevent this from happening.