For more than a decade congress and its allies used Narendra Modi scare to build up a vote bank. The scare tactic worked better than Hitler’s propaganda and effectively demonized Modi. The thought behind this propaganda was congress’s policy of divide and rule. The congress seemed to have built on its legacy of dividing India into groups and communities along ethnic, sectarian, religious,linguistic and caste lines each group scared of other. If one looks at India’s electoral politics you’d notice a gradual decline in political discourse and participation. Barring late 70′s congress enjoyed uninterrupted power and the country continued its evolution into identity politics where national interest was never the priority. Regional parties which were nothing more than carbon copy of congress mushroomed across the country, each latching on to certain identity groups and fanning the passions to circumvent India’s first past the post electoral methods.
As we progressed into 90′s and the next millennium, the dominant political discourse changed from violent means to social engineering. Caste based reservation politics split the society from middle. SC, ST, OBC, Atidalit, Mahadalit, Upper caste, muslims, yadav and hundreds of other such vote banks cropped up. With the rise of such divisions came the coalition era. So apt to say a broken society cannot give a decisive mandate. With the exception of NDA rule this disintegration has continued. The ruling dispensation continued to devise innovative ways to harness political power from an increasingly broken society.
National interest has been one of the biggest victim of the increasingly desperate fight for vote banks. Who can believe national leaders in India go to its arch enemy Pakistan to win Muslim votes in their constituency. Anti terror laws like POTA is repealed and terrorists like Ishrat are eulogised while security forces are hounded and jailed to placate Muslim votes. Brutal Maoist killers who sadistically mutilate bodies are called Gandhian with guns. Meritocracy has been another victim. The focus is no longer on getting the best talent but to placate vote banks. It was a shock listening to Manmohan Singh saying muslims have the first right on national resources.
The challenge that Modi presents to the entire ruling class is unprecedented. Modi is not merely challenging the congress government at centre. He is attacking the very existence of congress and the kind of politics they do. No wonder the attack on Modi has been vitriolic.
The attack on Modi was scathing, vicious and relentless. The nexus of liberal intelligentsia, media and rest of political parties undertook a worldwide smear campaign that effectively portrayed Modi as a radical Hindu Nationalist who overlooked a genocide. Several self proclaimed champions of human rights jumped on the bandwagon. And yet their decade long campaign of vilification could not contain Modi’s meteoric rise.
Notice the gradual recession in the scale, seniority and shrillness in congress’s presence in media. As the UPA nears end of its second term in office, the aggressiveness that was the hallmark of UPA-1 is conspicuously missing. Almost all of its attempts to stop Modi has failed. The congress today is already a thoroughly defeated party. Their leadership, the Gandhis sitting in their secluded ivory towers still think they can fool the populace with freebies and doles as they’ve been doing for decades. Unfortunately for them, their stooges are afraid of telling the king that he isn’t wearing any clothes.