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Opinion Setback to ‘Elected Dictator’ Project, Cult Worship
P. Raman
Jun 10, 2024
Shorn of ‘strong leader’ halo, Modi could now be forced to eat humble pie on pet schemes such as Agniveer, UCC, CAA and simultaneous polls.Narendra Modi and NDA ministers sworn in on June 9.
The 18th general election will go down in history for its decisive rejection of three ideas built over a decade: hate and polarisation as winning chips, the invincibility of Narendra Modi’s persona and, most significantly, the authoritarian project to impose a one-leader, one-party system on the country.
During the campaign, Amit Shah had said a Uniform Civil Code and the One Nation, One Election scheme would be implemented after the elections. In 2019, the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 had come soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a second term in office. The strong leader will now be forced to compromise on all such promises. This will be the first climbdown for Modi. As chief minister or prime minister, he has been unfamiliar with the culture of consultation, consensus and compromise that is the core of coalition politics.
Always in the past, Modi and Amit Shah would draw up the cabinet list and announce it at a moment of their choosing. Now the twosome is forced to consult N. Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. Naidu, we all know, has been a hard negotiator in national politics. We will see how this unfolds. But with 16 MPs, he is reported to have begun rooting for the Lok Sabha Speaker’s post and has seen two ministers from his party sworn in. Nitish and Naidu are also reported to have proposed a coordination committee, a minimum programme and due representation in official panels for allies.
Apart from Naidu and Nitish emerging as a decisive factor in the survival of this government, there could be a power shift to the states from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). This, if it happens, would guide a return to a healthy, rules-based federal relationship and funding. Modi has been accused of weaponising federal relations to discriminate against state governments run by the Opposition.
There are many questions before Naidu:
- Will he oppose the misuse of governors as warhorses against Opposition governments and push to restore Raj Bhavans to pre-2014 levels?
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Will he and Nitish demand that statutory bodies such as the CAG, CIC and CVC be allowed to function as they did pre-2014 and that media can work in a free and fair manner?
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Will he insist on a return to normal cabinet functioning, as existed under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other Prime Ministers, instead of PMO-centric decision-making?
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Will Naidu ask for the restoration of a deliberative democracy and normal functioning of Parliament and its committees?
As of now, Modi and Shah seem to have adjusted to the constraints of a coalition. Meetings and internal discussions — unusual for them — are being held at different levels. Modi, who rode roughshod over the dissenters, is now talking of unanimity and consensus. Consider how he sought the blessings of Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.
Also read: The BJP Underestimated the Punching Power of a New Generation of Politicians in the 2024 Elections
Modi’s success in the past 24 years in power has been due to his ability to tame the sceptics through threats and inducements.
Under him the top Indian bureaucracy crawled when told to bend and statutory watchdog bodies, led by handpicked officials, appeared to have been rendered comatose.
Appointments to the Election Commission were brought under the full control of the executive.
Even the decades-old Supreme Court collegium was scrapped by an act of Parliament to allow the executive to grab the power of appointments, but fortunately the judiciary struck this down.
A couple of Enforcement Directorate notices to owners were enough to tame the media – television channels became his noisiest supporters.
Social media was sought to be monopolised. A few courageous print media owners, news portals and YouTube journalists defied the intimidation.
Many were subjected to interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate and police, some were jailed. But a coalition’s compulsions should force the two leaders to jettison this high-and-mighty approach.
Modi’s persona has been the BJP’s campaign theme since 2014.
The government and the party organisation were equated with Modi; all decisions were announced in the name of Modi; there are two dozen central welfare schemes that have “Prime Minister” in their names —PM Awas Yojana, PM Jan Arogya Yojana and PM Ujwala scheme, to name a few – and are identified with Modi; Modi must flag off every new Vande Bharat train; he dominates every space exploration launch and even announces the names of astronauts; and he must commission every naval, army and air force facility. Government projects are said to wait endlessly for a convenient date from the PMO for the launch, with ministers rarely getting to do the honours. All this is part of a concerted bid at perpetuating ‘Brand Modi’.
A relentless cult build-up has been an essential item in all elected dictators’ toolkits. This time, Modi broke his own records of election rallies and roadshows. BJP chief ministers competed with each other to bring out Modi’s advertisements in Delhi newspapers.
Government departments came out with Modi ads. Other sponsored ads and the party’s own ads and hoardings and posters filled all prime space.
Wherever you went, you just could not escape the huge Modi portraits, glittering hoardings and posters staring at you. Turn to your laptop or mobile phone, and the familiar figure would stare at you from every application — WhatsApp, YouTube, even the humble e-mails page. In different forms and shapes: now as a dignified statesman inaugurating G20, now a pujari, now a meditating hermit and diver of the deep sea.
Everywhere Modi. An over-exposure fatigue might be now setting in. A ‘Modi, Modi, Modi’ video by Bhojpuri singer Neha Singh Rathore evoked wild applause at Opposition rallies in Uttar Pradesh.
At public meetings, the crowds responded with derision whenever any Opposition leader referred to the omnipresent Modi hoardings.
The dictator’s toolkit had been followed so well. Several senior Opposition leaders were jailed or repeatedly harassed, raided and interrogated.
As a result, hundreds deserted rival parties and sought solace in the ruling party. Corruption cases against those who switched sides were promptly withdrawn. During the elections, the Opposition’s bank accounts were frozen by tax authorities, forcing them to move court.
Even their petty cash and publicity materials were seized in the middle of the elections, and cases were slapped on them.
All this was aimed at disrupting the Opposition campaign. Their campaign helicopters were searched. The disruption and intimidation continued throughout the campaign.
However, the Indian voters quietly went to the booth and marked their anger.
Also read: In Modi’s Third Term, Coalition Dynamics Likely to Impact India’s Neighbourhood Ties
Modi has never had such a disastrous fall. Not only did the NDA tally fall to 292 as against the 400-paar claim, his own vote share in Varanasi fell to 54% from 63% in 2019 and his victory margin plunged from 4.8 lakh votes to 1.5 lakh votes.
The NDA might not have reached even the present tally of 292 had it not been for the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka and Nitish Kumar in Bihar.
A rather unnoticed subtext of the elections has been that most of Modi’s derisive taunts have now returned to haunt him cruelly:
- Rahul Gandhi, branded ‘Pappu’, was mobbed by jobless surging youths who see him as an alternative.
Modi had repeatedly said that India will soon become “Congress-mukt”. Instead, the Congress has almost doubled its tally to 99 from 52 whereas his own party fell from 303 to 240.
Modi ridiculed the veteran Sharad Pawar as a bhatakti atma (restless soul), to which the latter said: “I am restless for the farmers’ cause.” The veteran had the last laugh after June 4 – he leads the largest group in Maharashtra while Modi is licking his wounds.
Last but not the least, Modi’s fall from the position of a super leader to a coalition head could impact the funds flow into the BJP.
The first blow was when the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bonds scheme, of which the party was the biggest beneficiary.
Amit Shah had recently spoken of the need to find an alternative to the bonds scheme. A dozen private think-tanks might be affected. The BJP’s weak state units look to the centre for their finances.
The Wire has revealed the details of the party’s building construction spree. Party chief J.P. Nadda had some time ago announced that the BJP would have its own office building in every district.
Its social media and organisation networks, like booth panels, are also cash guzzlers. But Modi’s big fall could change corporate funding priorities, which would worry the big-spending BJP.
P. Raman is a veteran journalist
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