Power Struggle In BJP

The newly elected president of Bharatiya Janata Party, Rajnath Singh, has appealed to his party colleagues to stop talking about the Prime Ministerial candidate publicly. Poor leader had left with no choice as everybody who is anybody in his party was thinking aloud and blaring out some or other name as the prospective candidate for the next Prime Minister of India. They included former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, former Union Minister Shatrughan Sinha and now suspended former Union Minister Ram Jethmalani.

Ever since the talk of impending parliamentary elections started making rounds in the country, the BJP leaders have jumped one by one into discussing the probable names of the next PM. They were buoyed by the recent victory registered by the party under the leadership of Narendra Modi. Since 1996, the BJP is fighting parliamentary elections, and to some extent even state assembly elections as well, by projecting some or other leader. From 1996 t0 2004, it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In 2009, Lal Krishna Advani was projected as contender. Now, a majority of the party workers look to Modi as their savior who could end their drought of power for 10 years.

It is true that L K Advani is till around the corner. But his name is not a sure-shot prescription for the electoral victory. Advani, a veteran of elections ever since India became a Republic, is 85 today. Though he is in good stead physically and his vigor for the post is well known, the defeat in the last elections under his leadership gave a heavy blow to his claim.

Another problem plaguing the party is it is nowhere able to come to power on its own. It leads a coalition of over a dozen parties, called National Democratic Alliance. Till now, because of its sheer size, BJP had an automatic claim on the PM's post. Within last decade, many of the coalition partners of the NDA have ruled their states, gathering appreciation and public support, and in turn became a good challenger for the post. Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, is one such example.

By bringing back Bihar to the path of governance after a long spell of virtual bankruptcy and lawlessness, Nitish Kumar has upped his stakes and looks towards the coveted highest post in the country, which is more than obvious. He sees Modi as a strong competitor and tries to undermine his standing by resorting to secularism. Modi, with his 11-year rule and appreciation from all quarters for his management of the government in Gujarat, has a major black spot on his robe in the form of riots in February 2002 which allegedly killed over 1000 Muslims in that state. Even though he has attracted quite a following among industrialists, political workers and in public, the media and intelligentsia are not ready to mend their fences with him and he is constantly reminded of this dark past.

During the assembly election campaigning last month, Modi constantly took jibes at Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the mother-son duo of the ruling Congress party at center. It was an open gesture of reminding his party and others that his eyes were set on New Delhi. Being only Chief Minister of BJP who wrested victory for third consecutive term is an achievement which automatically catapulted him to the larger role. Even though BJP has a plethora of leaders at New Delhi including Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jetli et al, none of them command such a mass following as Modi. Hence, he becomes the natural contender for the PM's post.

Now the question is, would BJP leaders accept him as their leader. Rajnath Singh's appeal to stop the chattering is an indication that they have not as yet!

Read More

The Modis Operandi of Growth

First thing first. That Narendra Modi has made it to the record books as the longest serving chief minister of Gujarat. He became the longest serving head of Gujarat state with the completion of five years and almost eight months of his rule. Modi, who took over as chief minister on Oct 7, 2001, completed 2063 days of rule on Friday, 1st June 2007. The state of Gujarat has seen as many as 14 chief ministers in 47 years since its formation in 1960.
There are many people in this country whose faces turn to red at the very mention of Narenda Modi. Some see in him the next Hitler and for some moderate ones, he is the biggest threat to the Indian democracy and integrity. It is actually another matter how far they have gone to know or study the man or the administrator behind this figure. For the last five years, Narendra Modi has provided almost all the fodder for opposition and attack from the opponents of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the process, he has built a reputation for himself that hardly betrays any human aspect or the kindness. Coming from the state of Gujarat, from where Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation and proponent of the Satyagraha and Ahimsa (non-violence), he has faced flak in immeasurable measure. Still he has achieved something that he should be rightly proud of even in future.
Yes, there have been other leaders in the country who have been in the office far more than Mr. Modi. Prior to him, former chief minister Narendra Desai was the longest serving head of the Gujarat, being in power for 2062 days. Present Railway Minister of Laloo Prasad Yadav was the chief minister of Bihar for more than six years from 1990 onwards. Even before that, in Maharashtra, Vasantrao Naik was the Chief Minister of the state for almost 14 years from 1962 onwards. What sets Mr. Modi apart is his leadership qualities in terms of the political successes and the administrative traits in terms of the developmental work in the state. Gujarat inherited by Mr. Modi and Gujarat under Mr. Modi is vastly difference. This difference does not manifest through riots only, which media pleases to show at the very first opportunity.
Just last week I was in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Being a citizen one could not help comparing the situation in different, especially so if one happens to come from a state which was a part of the concerned state. The development works in Gujarat are not only amazing, they are just awe inspiring. Not withstanding the vehement and powerful activism of Narmada Bachao Andolan, can one deny that the Sardar Sarovar dam has infused a new life in the farm sector of the Gujarat? Laloo Prasad in his tenure took Bihar to such depths that it became synonymous with disgrace. While people in Maharashtra woke up each day to the electricity less life, Gujarat has gone ahead with providing excess electrical power to the neighboring Maharashtra.
Political philosophies apart, `Namo,’ as he is known widely, has proved to be a capable administrator, who has managed to provide the basic amenities to the public, a job for which he is entrusted. How many of the today’s leaders are capable of boasting this feat. For starters, let us see what Mr. Modi has achieved throughout his tenure.
g See how he handled the situation in the quake hit parts of Gujarat. When he took over as the Chief Minster Bhuj was a city of rubble. People were living in temporary shelters without basic infrastructure. Earthquake recovery became his first priority. Now Gujarat Reconstruction Programme is said to be one of the best reconstruction programmes on the global map and set a benchmark for reconstruction and disaster recovery, not only in India, but also in the entire Asia.
g Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor's meet is an innovative bi-annual submit organized by Narendra Modi to attract. Even the events like kite flying festival on Makar Sakranti were used for attracting foreign investment.
This development pattern of Gujarat has been appreciated by all and it is recognized by the State organizations also. It was not long ago that Rajiv Gandhi Foundation has awarded the Gujarat State for various development works. This issue was also a topic for the hot political discussion. Just recently, Planning Commission of India has lauded the state for its development and even has gone to the extent of terming it as a star performer.
According to the UNI story,
· Gujarat's economic growth post-liberalistion, specifically in the last five years, has evoked admiration in the draft Gujarat Development Report, prepared by Gujarat Institute of Development Research (GIDR) at the behest of the Planning Commission.Terming the state a ''star performer'' and a ''manufacturing specialist'', the report makes specific mentions of investments in ports, roads, telecom and other infrastructure.A jarring note in the report comes in the form of Gujarat achieving an average growth rate of only 14 per cent in the manufacturing sector despite a potential for crossing the 20 per cent mark.However, for this under-performance, the report puts the onus on the conservative monetary and exchange rate policies of the Central Government and the RBI. Comparing Gujarat with other states, the report finds the western state doing exceedingly well on most economic parameters. The comparisons have been made against Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. It gives an example of how growing from a much lower level of Rs 11,500 against Rs 13,500 of Maharashtra in 1993, the per capita income of Gujarat crossed that of its neighbour in 2003 and stood at Rs 19,500, a jump of over 70 per cent in a decade growing fastest among its peers. ''Gujarat is in a class by itself. Among its peer states, Gujarat has the highest rate of growth of GDP, manufacturing and per capita SDP. The openness to immigration of labour, and the natural advantage of much land with little alternative use, local entrepreneurship, state support and local politics that is not against capital are significant factors,'' says the chapter on'Economic Performance of Gujarat in recent times''.

Given this background, can one deny that with the hooting that Namo gets regularly, he deserves a hats off too?

Read More