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With the celebrations slowly dying down after the resounding BJP success, it's time to analyze what exactly went right for this party. Although a lot has been said as to what made the BJP click this time and with this magnitude, a single statement that can sum up everything is that: 'It Changed'. In the corporate world we keep hearing, in fact a lot off-lately, that 'Change is going to be the new Constant', highlighting the fact that if entities do not mould themselves to the ever changing market space, they will certainly be written-off in due course of time. Hence, there is a lot of interest and top management push to constantly seek new opportunities, reinvent oneself and continuously improve so that for customers, a company becomes the natural partner of choice.
Hence Modi, in pushing his mantra of development and governance, heeded exactly this piece of corporate wisdom. He was prudent enough to have gauged that Advani's earlier emphasis on Hindutva is not going to give him enough mileage this time around; particularly when the young forms the majority of the voters. He was wise enough to have ditched that ideology and to have kick-started the BJP campaign on the twin but very relevant issues of inclusive development and good governance. The inclusive part took care of the divisions within the electorate which till now were individually milked by different parties and the development part whetted the aspirations of the young who wanted a better living standard and not just continue with the one they were born in. The good governance was an easy shot directly targeting the incumbent. Whereas a lot of analysis will continue to flow in, in the near future, what made difference to everything was this huge realization that the aspirations of the electorate has changed drastically over the years and that old tricks to woo them will not fetch the type of dividends he was looking for. Not that Hindutva would not have given them any seats but definitely not those figures they have received this time.
The fact that the likes of BSP, AGP and MNS have failed to register any seats and also for the likes of SP and Left which only somehow managed to survive the onslaught is prove enough that the ideology that they have been banking on has slowly become irrelevant. Hence, for me this election has been sort of a clarion call. A call to each and every party to introspect and retrospect to find out the causes of failure and in doing so it would be immensely important that they realize that the ideology they have been banking is on the verge of expiry. Divisive political strategies, either in the name of caste or class have slowly become anachronistic and the young today easily can see through the hollowness of them. Hence, these parties will have to change or just wither away.
As for Modi, he is bang on as to what the country today wants. Its important that the other BJP leaders too realize the import of this verdict and stop from changing course midway. Many a times, it has been seen how parties with absolute majority have squandered away the mandate. I request Mr Modi, to stay focused and try delivering what he has promised. He has fueled our imagination and has got the people aspire a lot. With such high expectations to be met, Mr Modi has a herculean task ahead. But, he has everything on his stride this time, numbers as well as the people of India and if managed well, he can rule decades.
Its like the trailer was interesting....But picture abhi baaki hai.
ReplyDeleteIt was clearly the balanced, sane, consensus view that Narendra Modi would be the Prime Minister, but would need to get various regional parties on board. We'd be in for yet another five years of good coalition compulsions, and glacial movement on any fundamental economic reforms.
ReplyDeleteOn the fundamental economic reforms, we are in a whole new world. Even the Narasimha Rao government pretty much shut the reform shop after the initial wave of the bare minimum that needed to be done. Rao faced considerable internal opposition within the Congress to his reforms, especially after the heavy assembly election losses halfway through his term.
Now, for the first time ever, there is a government, which of its own free will, will move forward on reforms. There is no room for doubt on Modi's reformist vision, and no scope for any credible opposition to him either within or outside his party.
The genetic blueprint of socialist-leftist economic ideas have burrowed deeply in India's political template, including in the BJP. If there was a possibility of a government committed to a real move forward on the economy, it was that of a Modi government, distinct not just from an NDA-led coalition government, but even a BJP government in which Modi was just one element.
Which is just as well, because the fundamental economic challenges that face the country are not of the kind that are going to be solved while wringing one's hands apologetically about coalition dharma. Take jobs for instance; the numbers tell us that we have added no more than 1 crore jobs in the formal sector in the last decade.
For the next twenty years, well above 1 crore young people will enter the jobs market every year. In fact, this number doesn't even take into account the increasing rate at which women will want to enter the job market. It also doesn't take into account the fact that in agriculture, half of our workforce together produces 14% of the GDP.
Have no illusions, there is utterly no way that these many jobs can be created without a massive expansion of manufacturing. And there is no way that can be done without someone putting a large part of the business and labour-related regulatory superstructure to the sword.
In any case, the NDA's massive numbers have already created the solution to anti-reforms Rajya Sabha. In a joint session of the two houses (which is the constitutional fallback if the Rajya Sabha rejects bills passed by the Lok Sabha), the NDA already has a majority. For those trying to read the tea leaves in terms of the new government's impact on businesses and investments, the message clearly is that all the bets are off. You can try and figure out what will happen in the next three or six months. But what Indian industry looks like five years from now, it simply cannot be predicted. You can bet on India; you can even bet on many sectors, but perhaps not on any actual company.
If the PM can implement the reforms agenda that he has been given the tools to do, then we are bound to get some new and unexpected champions. The future is unknown as it always is, but hopefully, in a good way.