Midst the growing clamour in Bhartiya Janta
Party of making Narendra Modi the prime-ministerial candidate for the 2014
general elections, he landed in Delhi Delhi
University
And like any Modi movement, the hyperactive
media went in frenzy. Modi was all across, painting every news website,
inhabiting every news channel. Expect the printed word following the trend when
the newspapers come to stands.
Predictably, the focal point was the ‘prospect
and contention’ on Narendra Modi’s prime-ministerial candidature and obvious
cropping-up of his comparison with Rahul Gandhi.
As the equations and the goings of the moment
say, Narendra Modi is having the clear advantage when we project the elements
for 2014. Almost every survey report declares him the most popular leader in
the country and the most preferred choice as the next prime minister. And it is
not without the elements of reason.
Rahul’s chances are fishy. He figures in every
such report but Modi has been able to maintain and widen the gap.
So, what are the principle elements that place
him ahead of Rahul Gandhi? I see three as the cardinal ones. (Sure, more can be added.)
POLITICAL CAREER – THE ROLE MODEL STUFF
Modi has risen from nowhere, from a family
that belonged to the lower stratum of India
Rahul’s background is elitist. No matter how
many night-outs at Dalit huts, he is not going to be able to change this
perception. The skepticism only aggravates given Rahul’s short career in active
politics that is absolutely short of any significant political and social
achievement. Instead, Rahul has, in his account, social blunders like Kalawati,
Maval and Bhatta Parsaul. Also, the country is still unaware of Rahul’s
intellectual credentials. Rahul may be a political alternative given his
Nehru-Gandhi lineage but everything else in his record-book scuttles his
chances to be seen as a role model.
ELECTORAL PERFORMANCE
Modi has a proven political track record with
three consecutive electoral victories. And mind you, these all have been
convincing victories, routing not just the opposition parties, but also the
factionalism in his own party fueled by big names including a former chief
minister and influential community leader. Also, in last two elections, even
the RSS worked anti to him.
Rahul has big electoral failures in his name
since he started taking centrestage of the election campaigning for the
Congress party. The most notable ones are Bihar
and Uttar Pradesh. Some assembly victories that came to the Congress party
cannot be accorded to Rahul’s stature.
Modi is high on confidence. Rahul must be in
introspection mode if he has to do the damage control. Complacency is going to
be big killer adding to the misery in an election where the Congress party’s
prospects are already being written off.
KNOWING THE CONTEXT – THE EFFECTIVE OUTREACH
Modi is cunningly brilliant to exploit the
words of others to his own advantage. He plays the victim card, impregnated
with the religious sentiments, subtly well. He knows what to say and how to
package his message keeping in mind the audience. He shows a craftsmanship of a
corporate communicator here.
On the other hand, Rahul has failed again and
again on this front. The emotional quotient that happened to the high point
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
