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
No comments:
Post a Comment