Ch Rashid Azam Inqlabi
Narendra Damodardas Modi is an Indian politician and inspirational leader widely famous and loved among youth and the masses of India. He is a successful politician who became a first-time MLA as Chief Minister of Gujarat and also a first-time Member Parliament as Prime Minister. The love and confidence of the people of India that Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys from the masses i. e teenager, adults, senior citizens, members of civil society, from poor to middle class and up to business class, residents of rural areas, urban areas, which the country is witnessing for the first time after Gandhi ji. During elections when we ask the people to whom they will vote they plainly told, for Modi. They even do not know the name of the concerned candidate who is contesting the election in their area. In 2014 he led his party to victory in elections to the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament), after which he was sworn in as prime minister of India. Prior to that, he had served (2001-14) as chief minister of Gujarat. Narendra Modi was born in September 1950 to a family in Vadnagar, Gujarat. His father’s name is Late Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his mother’s name is Hiraben Modi. They have six children, and Modi is the third eldest among them. During his childhood days, Modi used to help his father in selling tea at Vadnagar, Railway Station, and later Modi and his brother ran same tea stall near a bus terminus. Modi completed his higher secondary education in vannagar. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organization in the early 1970s and set up a unit of the RSS’s students’ wing, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, in his area. He visited several ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda. After some years Modi again returned to Vadnagar and then Ahmedabad. There, he lived with his uncle, who worked in the canteen at the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporations. He was recognized as a key strategist for being instrumental in successfully campaigning for his party. In 1988, in Gujarat Assembly elections BJP came as the ruling party in Gujarat. He was credited for carrying out the responsibility of revamping the organization of the party in various states. In 1988, he became General Secretary and held the position till 2001. In October 2001, he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel resigned from the post due to health reasons. He took the oath on October 7, 2001 as Chief Minister of Gujarat and remained on the position for three consecutive terms. Narendra Modi contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections for the first time and won the elections by a huge margin and was sworn in as the ‘Prime Minister of India’ on May 26, 2014. Modi’s dedication, dynamic nature, and determination once again shine and he was again elected as Prime Minister of India on 30 May 2019 for the second time. Even earlier, he was the longest-serving Chief Minister of Gujarat (October 2001 to May 2014). He has a dynamic personality and a source of motivation that rise from a poverty-stricken background from being the boy who sells tea to a development / Futuristic ideas oriented leader. During his tenure, he manages the affairs of government in an excellent way. He is a ray of hope in the lives of billions of Indians. The famous slogan ‘Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai’ became so popular among the masses. Another one was ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ which focuses on the dignity of laborers and aims to take the support of the working class. His idea behind this slogan is his firmness and dedication toward his work as the nation’s ‘Chowkidar’. Recently the election of the President of India is an excellent example of his ‘Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai’ slogan. Mandate to woman from a tribal community is a surprise and a far-sighted step, which only Modi can do. If we recall the past history, generally the veteran politician and their relatives get the mandate/nomination for such constitutional posts. The common person can never even think or gets the chance. It is not possible for a common person to get a mandate even of MLA or MLC without a political background. Even the party workers throughout their life remain only workers and are entrusted only with arranging functions for the party. Whereas, on one side politician and rich person who financed the party got the chance to represent the assembly or parliament, youth or party worker who belongs to a poor family or farmer’s background or even a weaker section of society has a rare chance to get the mandate of a party from national or regional parties, but, BJP break the ice and rise above all these petty politics and worked as the exception to others to some extent. Even, in history of Jammu and Kashmir not more than 1 per cent of youth without political background or with no political godfather got the chance to represent in assembly or in parliament. In every regional party the traditional politician makes the shot, they got a mandate, they also occupy the organizational posts of the party, and they adjusted their near relative in every party so that they always have to say in the administration. It is surprising that these traditional politicians help each other even sitting on opposite political parties. The choice of the former President of India from a Dalit community is a wonderful act of BJP but while giving the mandate to Draupadi Murmu for President of India’s election as a joint candidate, Modi surprised everyone. These hard decisions/steps happen only in Modi-Shah regime. Modi has such a grip on day-to-day affairs and even, he minutely observes every event at the district level. The Congress and other regional parties at the national level are dynastic in nature i.e. the party organization is controlled by a single family. For example, in case of Samajwadi party, Trinamool Congress, or the DMK, the president of the party as well as the Chief Minister-designate come from the same party. As far as the impact of political dynasties on Indian democracy is concerned, if more political family members continue to be wooed by political parties across the spectrum then it will create more barriers for commoners to enter the electoral arena as political families have more access to all kinds of resources that puts them in an advantageous position Although, BJP has been smart at promoting itself as less hereditary and more accessible and merit-based than other political parties, dynasty remains vitally influential in electoral politics and a focus of growing resentment among those who believe Indian society is generally becoming more meritocratic, it may not be as significant a force as it looks at first sight. Family of relatives and associates often controls constituency party politics. The BJP and the parties of the left remain comparatively meritocratic. Those who come from a ‘hyper-connected’ political family – for example, those with a mother-in-law, an uncle, and a sibling in national or regional politics – are on average even richer than MPs who have entered parliament after a long and successful career in business. In other democracies, the children of a president or a prime minister often seek to join the political rat race, In India and Pakistan, we see succession, i.e., Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of Pakistan became co-chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party after his mother’s assassination in 2007. Whereas, In India, Rahul Gandhi inherits the politics due to his family background, regional parties like Biju Janata Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal, NC, PDP, and Samajwadi Party. We can see influential families adjust their relatives in different parties so that they remain effective even during the change of mandate. BJP is less hereditary and more accessible and merit-based than other parties. As we see recently in Jammu and Kashmir the Bharatiya Janata party nominated Gulam Ali- a Gujjar youth for Rajya Sabah which comes as a surprise for everybody. People appreciated this act of BJP for giving a chance to party workers belonging to a poor family having no political godfather. We can conclude by saying ‘Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai’. Modi has taken hard decisions whether it is ‘triple talaq’, the Reorganisation Act of Jammu and Kashmir, Jan-Dhan Yojana, Swatch Bharat and other schemes for poor. I can never forget Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words at the Islamic Heritage Conference, organized in Delhi. He said (young) Muslims should be well-versed with the Holy Quran and the computer. His words have resonated across the community.
(The author is a freelance journalist and retired KAS officer).