Thursday, April 25, 2013

Why is Modi keeping away from Karnataka????



The brave visionary and future PM of the BJP is keen to shun Karnataka. Knowing perhaps that his party has no chance of winning there. What does Modi have to gain by going to Karnataka? Nothing. What does he have to lose? A lot, considering how the media would jump to say that his charm didn’t work!

That’s what the media (and BJP) said when Rahul Gandhi’s campaign in Bihar came acropper during the last state elections there. But look at the difference. The man, who is being derided for “lack of experience” has the courage to go to a state where the Congress has traditionally had no chance. He wasn’t afraid of being branded a failure. He was a man on a mission, keeping his eyes on the long term. As a true leader, he also recognized his role in leading his team and motivating them to putting in their best efforts. But the same considerations don’t seem to be in Modi’s mind. In fact, if anything, its just the opposite. The fear of losing Karnataka after having canvassed aggressively stalks his mind. A true blue leader indeed!

Losing and winning are part of the game but a leader gets tested in all such situations. We saw last year in UP how Rahul Gandhi canvassed aggressively, and lost. But it was Rahul Gandhi who had won UP in 2009 for the Congress, winning as many as 22 Lok Sabha seats from the state, a feat no one expected. The BJP of course was nowhere in the state. And its not as if the UP had been favorably disposed towards the Congress – the party hasn’t ruled the state since 1989. Yet Rahul Gandhi had gone and canvassed aggressively. That was a battle he had won. This recent assembly elections in UP….that was a battle he lost. But as a leader, he didn’t shy away from anywhere.

The CNN IBN poll telecast yesterday (I don’t believe most of these polls though) says that the BJP is fighting hard not to be the 3rd party in the state. It also says that the Congress is most likely going to get a simple majority. Think of this. If Rahul Gandhi wanted to burnish his reputation, he would have made a dash for the state. That’s what weak leaders do. Go to “safe” states and fight from “safe” constituencies. They can lecture the others about being brave and fighting in tough terrain, but when it comes to themselves, they want to be in the safe, no-fire zone. But Rahul Gandhi is made of a different code. He is doing his bit in Karnataka (a few rallies), but not overdoing it to hog the limelight. He is happy to have the local unit take the credit for the success. Only a true leader does that. Only a true leader is humble enough and secure enough for hom to allow his team to take the credit, while he himself comes forward to take the blame for failures.

What do we see in Gujarat. A sure state for the BJP, it was Narendra Modi who took all the credit away!

Its not the first time we are seeing this kind of cowardly behavior from Modi. In the last UP elections, he didn’t canvass in the state. Of course, he wasn’t a member of the party’s Parliamentary Board, and his responsibilities were limited to his home state, but surely that’s hardly a restriction for canvassing. If he was the dynamo he is made out to be, surely the party would have benefitted from his canvassing there? But no. Not one rally in the state. Why? One reason: he is afraid and he runs away from the real battles, preferring to stay ensconced in “safe” states. 2nd reason: Not only would he not have helped his party, his mere presence would have made matters worse. UP being polarized the way it is, Modi would have ensured a further depletion in votes for his party. In any case, the party fared poorly, losing seats from its already low levels.

But be sure that Modi will be seen prominently in the MP and Delhi elections to be held later this year! Especially in MP which is seen as a safe zone. It would give Modi a great chance again to show how much of a magnetic personality he is! Unless of course Shivraj Singh Chouhan, CM of the state, and the one who lost out to Modi in the stakes for a place on the party’s Parliamentary Board, decides otherwise (most likely he will be over-ruled). So expect to see the PM aspirant of the BJP in full glory in safe MP!

To be fair, most politicians would do what Modi is doing. They are all aware of their limitations. They are smart enough to stay where they are on firm footing. But the peculiarity of Modi and the BJP is that they take a public posture that is the exact opposite of the reality. And they attack others as a strategy to deflect attention from themselves. So rather than keeping silent on Modi’s absence from UP, they will attack Rahul Gandhi for failing in that state! But the people are smart. They know when someone talks too much and delivers too little. They know how to remove the grain from the chaff. That’s why they branded Modi “Feku”. And that is why there is so much credibility gap the BJP faces. Even in the face of an extremely poor poll scenario for the Congress, the BJP isn’t winning. It’s strange, but the both the ruling party and the main opposition party are expected to lose in the forthcoming 2014 elections! Oh ok….the BJP may gain a few seats, but that should still be called a loss, considering that they will be far too short to even stake claim to form a government.

The real truth is that Modi is playing it safe by avoiding Karnataka. He is reportedly doing only one rally there. As a leader, he should be able to take a loss on his chin. He cannot be seen as running away. The state CM wants him to come for more rallies. He has a great chance to prove how much of a “Loh purush” he is. His party would have a better chance too (if we believe the party’s rhetoric). Then why is he keeping away? Why did he keep away in UP? Why will he go aggressively to MP? Unfortunately, all of this paints Modi as being a coward….not exactly the trait one seeks in a PM

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