Despite a controversial past – Narendra Modi, 64, is accused by detractors of not doing enough to stop the 2002 riots
that saw as many as 2,000 killed, most of them Muslims his stature
has grown steadily since then and he has built an
image for turning
Gujarat into one of India's best-governed and most affluent states. The
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
has lost the last two general elections –
2004 and 2009 – and
has yet to convert its fortunes, but the Hindutva
poster boy is increasingly seen as the leader who could finally return
the
saffron party to power.
Promoted
in 1995 to become the BJP’s national secretary, he helped orchestrate
the party’s rise to power. After taking over the chief ministership in
the wake of a disastrous earthquake, in 2001, he has been re-elected
thrice, becoming Gujarat’s longest-serving leader :) . In June this
year, theBJP
appointed him chairman of its campaign committee ahead of
general elections due in 2014, signalling that Modi is its
future prime
ministerial candidate and now its official BJP
announces Narendra Modi
as its Prime Ministerial
candidate. AB CONGRESS ki lag gayI! :D :P
Taking a leaf out of US President Barack Obama’s election
slogan – “Yes we can, Yes we will” – Modi launched the BJP’s poll
campaign, urging non-Congress Opposition to joins hands to rid the
country of the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA) corruption filled
misrule of INDIA FOR 10 grueling years!!
For
the BJP to get anything near to the 180 (out of 545) seats it needs in
2014 to be sure of leading a coalition government, Modi must appeal
beyond his base to an emerging urban middle class worried about jobs,
development and corruption.
On Solid Ground
.
Modi is today seen as a clean, efficient and no-nonsense administrator,
an image that has been cultivated by sending messages to the right kind
of audience. Business tycoons see him as a political enforcer who can
deliver business opportunity without expensive social unrest. His model
is one of ‘decentralisation of planning and empowering people’.
. Modi
has built a reputation as an incorruptible and efficient technocrat who
has electrified Gujarat's 18,000 villages - the state is the only one
in India with a near 24/7 power supply - and slashed red tape to attract
companies like Ford, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors.
. During
Modi's 10 years as Chief Minister, Gujarat has grown an average of 10% a
year. The state ranked fifth out of 15 big states in 2010-2011 in terms
of per capita income. The CM boasts it is the "engine of India's
economic growth." ;)
Modi
has nonetheless one achievement which should persuade the voters to
treat him with a measure of respect. He is the only chief minister in
the country who has not allowed the mischief-making Naxalites to create a
niche for themselves within his state, and this despite Gujarat having a
substantially large tribal population. :)
. Gujarat’s
success, even Modi's detractors acknowledge, is a result of good
planning exactly what so much of India lacks. The BJP has no real
choice but to bite the Modi bullet. The saffron party’s natural
supporters are enthused by Modi in the same way as they were by the
Ayodhya issue in 1991 and by Atal Bihari Vajpayee's leadership in 1998
and 1999.
. The
stigma that clung to him in the aftermath of the riots has not faded.
Despite his achievements as an administrator, he is still viewed through
the prism of the 2002 riots. Though he came close to losing his job
over his role in the riots, he expressed no regrets and admitted to no
misjudgements. He remains a deeply divisive figure. However, all
investigations have cleared him of any personal responsibility but one
of his former ministers, Maya Kodnani, was given 28 years in jail last
year for her part in the killing of 97 people in Naroda Patiya.
. Opinion
polls predict a close election with regional parties likely to be
king-makers. Even if the BJP secures the most votes it could struggle to
find partners to form a viable coalition government, especially with
Modi at its head.
. Political
observers are of the view that Modi could be rejected by Muslims and
moderate Hindus. Modi’s campaigning outside Gujarat in 2009 brought out
crowds but gathered few votes.
. Remember
what Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had said: if you want to do
politics in the country, you cannot stay away from skullcap and tilak.
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan knows this.
In a multi-ethnic/religious country like India, no leader
can perhaps command the support of all communities but he must not
attract the implacable hostility of India’s largest minority. For
instance, former Prime Minister Vajpayee may not have enjoyed widespread
support among Muslims but was not treated as an enemy either.
. It
will be tough going for him though in large parts of the country,
particularly in the east and the south, where members of the main
minority community constitute a sizeable part of the electorate. In the
southern States, where the BJP has virtually no presence, the Congress’s
loss cannot be the BJP’s gain. The Congress’s loss can be the BJP’s
gain only in States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh,
Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Delhi where the two national parties have a
direct contest.However Tamil Nadu is on the verge of supporting Narendra
Modi ,BJP in the upcoming 2014 election as Jayalalitha CM of Tamil nadu
has a friendly relationship with Narendra MODI JI! :)
This was clear when CM of TN Jayalalitha was present at the CM coronation function of Narendra Modi ji in Gujarat!!
Source:
How ever i personally hope and feel that this is guy who can free
India from the corruption ridden clutches of Congress !!!
