Decoding NaMo Power

Mritunjay Kumar profiles how Gujarat CM has been thwarting the UPA government’s relentless pressure to undermine his role on the national stage in the coming parliamentary polls

Narendra Modi politician has withstood relentless Opposition pressure with resilience and courage. For instance, the entire Central government, influential sections of the media machinery and civil society are arraigned against him.

How far will Modi rise? The sturdy chief minister of Gujarat, a state in western India, has already scripted an inspiring tale.

 

He has delivered Gujarat for the third time in a row to his party and won accolades for the state’s model of development. And if a latest survey is to be believed, Modi is the choice of majority Indians as the next prime minister, far surpassing Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi. Re-elected in Gujarat on December 17, 2012, after 11 years in power, his ambitions are now national. The de facto prime ministerial candidate for the BJP is growing in stature by the day. In March, BJPs president, Rajnath Singh, an old opponent, was forced into two concessions. First Modi, alone among the chief ministers, muscled himself into a pair of important party committees. Then, his right-hand man, Amit Shah, was installed as the party’s general secretary.

Modi is keen on projecting growth with a human touch. This is why he took pains to point out that his focus would be on “spiritual humanism, Gandhian legacies, tolerance, justice and compassion,” which he claimed were the drivers behind his investment efforts. Modi is also an avid known planner and an agent of change.

Over 2,700 MoUs worth over Rs. 15 lakh crore were inked in just one day in Gujarat as part of the fifth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors’ Summit early this year. That is a record and has made other states gawk in wonder and envy.

Many have ascribed this to Modi’s “finesse.” Well, what exactly is this finesse?

Modi has the adroitness and ability to cut through a maze of red tape and fast-track projects.

Gujarat’s system of single-window clearance for big-ticket projects in a stipulated timeframe has been able to attract major industries. And these projects are cleared by the Chief Minister personally.

As Ratan Tata recalled in his speech at the summit, Gujarat government took only three days to assure him land in Sanand to shift the (Nano) plant from Singur in West Bengal.

While other governments like Karnataka and Chhattisgarh sent out bland invites when Tata ran into trouble at Singur, Modi went a step further by identifying the land for the projects and clearing the same in three days.

The Gujarat Industrial Development Board is working overtime to ready the area for development works. The area is known for issues like water logging and loose soil. And for this the Gujarat government has sought scientific inputs rather than entrusting the work to a disinterested PWD.

As many as 12 MoUs have been signed, with an investment commitment worth Rs. 1.39 lakh crore and would generate an estimated 129,000 jobs.

The Tatas have announced a total investment on ground worth Rs. 30,000 crore and would employ 50,000 people in Gujarat and indirectly employ several more.

Modi does not bank on statistics alone. He does not feed investors with numbers that can be either astounding or confounding.

As Anand Mahindra, vice chairman of the Mahindra Group, said: “What struck me was when Modi’s team made the presentation of the event was they did not quote the usual statistics — GDP growth and the like. They began with the improvement in the infant mortality rate, girl child education… that’s what caught my attention. We will sign about six MoUs of Rs. 3,000 crore which will have Rs. 11,000 crore multiplier investment and creating 1,00,000 jobs.”

Modi is laying the industrial turf for the future by keeping an educated and vibrant workforce ready for industries that are keen on investing in the state. As he put it in his opening remarks at the summit: “Gujarat offers the best infrastructure. Labor problems are zero and there is an abundance of critical drivers.”

He is also keen on projecting growth with a human touch. This is why he took pains to point out that his focus would be on “spiritual humanism, Gandhian legacies, Vivekananda principles, tolerance, justice and compassion,” which he claimed were the drivers behind his investment efforts.

“This is an attempt to unite all those, who are concerned about the well-being of humanity and want to evolve new parameters for human welfare on a sustainable basis,” he said. He also took care to mention his commitment to battling the threat of climate change, referring to “my latest book on climate change. Al Gore (former US Vice-President) wrote about the Inconvenient Truth, but I am giving you the solution, Convenient Action,” he said.

Modi’s strength comes from – Ordinary party members back him fervently, yearning for a Hindu strongman. Besides, he is a force multiplier to flaunt the economic progress of Gujarat.

Investors in his state like the bountiful power, good roads, quick decision-making and easy availability of land. Migrants come for jobs. Gujaratis’ incomes have doubled under him.

Gujarat is not all golden. Academics note that on certain social indicators like child malnutrition and tribal welfare need more attention but Modi government is making all efforts to curb all the social challenges. Nor, can its experience easily be transplanted.

Gujaratis’ history of trade and entrepreneurship is exceptional. Last month he undertook a roadshow of sorts with a series of speeches and television addresses. He set out a vision of smaller, better government and promoted the privatisation of state-run firms, an education-voucher system and solar power. He also proposes easing cumbersome labour laws. Some talked of their son of a tea-seller as India’s answer to the British grocer’s daughter, Margaret Thatcher.

National campaigning will start after various -assembly elections in November. Observers expect a more presidential style of contest than usual. So television will especially matter: at the last election in 2009, 460million people had an idiot box at home. Next year around 800million will. That should suit Modi: he is charismatic, at times aggressive, and his outsider status is appealing.

Modi came, spoke, and conquered, recently from various platforms. He has outlined his vision and strategy for politics, good governance and people’s empowerment, delving deep into his experiences as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Unlike Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had peppered his speech while addressing a gathering of the Confederation of Indian Industry recently, with abstract remarks that had neither purpose nor direction, Modi has illustrated his statements with specific examples. And unlike Gandhi, who found only faults with the system — a system, incidentally presided over by his party for the last decade or so — the Chief Minister of Gujarat exuded optimism that things can be turned around if only governance returned centre-stage. Gandhi saw only chaos all around, likening the country to a beehive to substantiate his belief, while Modi saw an entrepreneur lurking in every Indian who was waiting for an opportunity to unleash his (or her) potential. Incidentally, a beehive is not as chaotic as Gandhi believes; the movement of the bees in and out of the hive is calibrated and well-thought out, unlike the functioning of the Congress-led UPA regime. However, there is really no point in further comparing the two leaders or what they say. Such an exercise would have made sense had there been some parity between them. But, while the Gujarat Chief Minister came across as a person who knew what he was talking — one may or may not agree entirely or partly with him — the Congress MP presented himself as a rather uninformed leader who was at sea when confronted with specifics. Whether it was at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry meet or at the ‘Think India Dialogue’ organised by the Network18 Group in Delhi or at a function in Kolkata to address the business community or at a party event in Kolkata, Modi structured his speech accordingly.

At the FICCI event, organised by the women’s wing of the trade body, he spoke almost exclusively on the critical role that women can play in the development of society and the nation. He slammed the growing incidents of female foeticide and enumerated steps that his Government had taken in Gujarat to empower women — such as waiving off stamp duty on property bought in the name of women. He is absolutely right in saying that a financially empowered woman gets to play a larger role in decision-making, both at home and in society. The party cannot contest his belief, for instance, that while politics is about power, governance is about people’s empowerment. In sum, it will be clear to the dumbest political observer that Modi has stolen a march over the Congress.

Modi is looking at balanced growth and not rapid industrialization. In a corrupt country where the chief source of corruption is the ruling party, he shines for his impeccable integrity. He has focused his entire energy on building in Gujarat an able administration and good governance. He has achieved phenomenal development and economic growth, and at the same time bolstered social inclusiveness. Through these he has worked hard to regain the confidence of the minorities, even as the relentless and pervasive hate campaign against him has continued unabated in the electronic media, among the fashionable intellectuals and civil society activists, who have become the media sweethearts.