NaMo and the ‘unch-neech’ of the Gujarat campaign trail

On Saturday, December 9, 2.12 crores of the 4.35 crore voters of Gujarat will go to the polls in the state elections of the world’s largest democracy. Out of a total of 182 seats, the fate of 89 will be decided. In this first phase, 977 candidates are contestants, one of whom is the current Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani. South Gujarat and Saurashtra, both crucial to who forms the government, will vote. These, incidentally, were also the region’s hardest hit by DeMo and GST.

As the campaigning reached its final crescendo, somewhat akin to the last over of a closely fought T20 cricket match, the BJP got an unexpected gratuity, like a no-ball followed by a free hit. Veteran leader, self-described as a “no post” “freelance Congressi,” Mani Shankar Aiyar, lobbed an underarm if not an underhand delivery. One of the most seasoned and intelligent players in the game, how could Aiyar have committed such a blunder?

Look at the sequence of events a little more closely. On Wednesday, December 6, on the occasion of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s 60th death anniversary, PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the swanky new 99 crore Dr. Ambedkar International Centre For Socio-Economic Transformation (DAICSET). Located on 15 Janpath in Lutyens Delhi, the centre is literally a stone’s throw from 10 Janpath, Sonia Gandhi’s residence and arguably still the second most powerful residence in India. Both the timing of the inauguration and its place were thus strategic.

Should that have come as a surprise to anyone with a modicum of respect, if not appreciation, for Modi’s political acumen? No. But the writing on the wall, though loud and clear, seemed to escape Mr Aiyar. Claiming that no one had done more than Jawaharlal Nehru to preserve and propagate the dreams of Dr Ambedkar, Aiyar went to lambast Modi for uttering “gandi baatein” (bad words) about the Nehru family.  As if that was not enough, Aiyar went on to add: “Ye aadmi bahut neech kisam ka aadmi hai, is mein koi sabhyata nahi hai, aur aise mauke par is kisam ki gandi rajniti karne ki kya avashyakta hai?” (This is a very lowly type of man, who has no decency and what was the need to indulge in this sort of despicable politics on an occasion like this?”)

A news agency made Aiyar’s comments public at 3:13 pm on Thursday, December 7. Within minutes, Modi, campaigning in Surat, so critical to BJP’s victory, latched on, using these unwarranted jibes to his advantage. “Mani Shankar Aiyar today said I belong to ‘neech’ caste, I am ‘neech’ (vile), this is an insult to Gujarat.” He went on to milk this to his advantage: “This is the Mughal mentality which hates people who even wear good clothes.” Master rhetorician that he is, Modi then took it to an altogether different level, making it a question of Gujarati pride and honour. Aiyar, he thundered, had insulted the people of Gujarat. His Gujaratis brothers and sister would offer a fitting reply — through the election verdict.

Soon, his social media managers also swung into action. The PM’s handle tweeted: “I have nothing to say on a ‘wise’ Congress leader calling me ‘Neech’. This is the Congress mindset. They have their language and we have our work. People will answer them through the ballot box,” providing a link to his speech, already uploaded on YouTube. Immediately after, party president Amit Shah tweeted a list of the choicest abuses showered on the PM by his Congress opponents: “Yamraj, Maut Ka Saudagar, Ravan, Gandi Nali Ka Keeda, Monkey, Rabies Victim, Virus, Bhasmasur, Gangu Teli, Goon.”

Thereafter the Congress tried its hand at damage control. Rahul Gandhi tweeted that he didn’t endorse Aiyar’s views and expected the latter to apologise. Aiyar did, pleading the excuse that Hindi was not his mother tongue. But too late: Aiyar was suspended from the primary membership of the Congress. This was his supremely ironic reward for his defending the first family of the Congress Party against Modi’s Moghul slur. Before the matter was done and dusted or the day had end, Arun Jaitley at 9:39 pm tweeted: “Mani Shankar Aiyar’s ‘Neech’- attack on Prime Minister – a deliberate casteist statement, a convenient apology, a strategic suspension. People should see through this game.” This was the final nail in the proverbial coffin of Aiyar’s unfortunate sneer.

It would seem that of all the insults heaped on Modi, “Bhasmasur,” the fiend who destroyed himself from his own foolish hubris, is most apt — however, by a twist of fate, not for Modi, but for his abusers and detractors. He uses to his benefit every aspersion cast(e) against him. Two conclusions clearly stand out. SM can make or break a politician, perhaps even an election. And in the T20 of politics, Modi is the master blaster.

The author is a poet and professor at JNU. Views expressed are personal.