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Narendra Modi the fascist or Narendra Modi the visionary? The mass murderer or the upholder of his state’s pride?

The man who gets the crowds worked up enough to shout ‘kill, kill’ or the man who attends conferences in five star hotels and talks about investment and infrastructure?

The quick answers to these questions depends on where one stands. The chief minister of Gujarat polarises opinion like no other politician in the country and the Gujarat elections have brought out these strong sentiments to the fore.

His publicity machine has ensured that the man’s suave face, the one that appeals to the pinkpapers, dominates.

In the first phase of the election campaigning, he talked of ‘development’ and the media duly noted that he had jettisoned his communal message that had got him such electoral dividends the last time round.

Once Sonia Gandhi came into the picture and used her punchy phrase, calling those who ruled the state ‘merchants of death’ (written, it is rumoured, by a film scriptwriter), Modi quickly changed track and pressed all the usual buttons that seem to excite his followers.

Any reference to Muslims linked with terrorism always goes down well with the public in BJP rallies — Modi has the added advantage of pumping up the crowds. Modi is back to playing the ‘communal card’, the reporters duly said.

But all this analysis assumes that this is a zero sum game. If one is mentioned, the other is jettisoned and vice versa. Or that if Sonia Gandhi hadn’t raked upreferences to communal riots, Modi would have staidly continued appealing to voters by reminding them about all the good he had done by bringing electricity, water and jobs to remote districts.

These are patently ridiculous notions. Politicians may be venal and cynical and the Congress, accused of being BJP-lite in Gujarat, may be tiptoeing softly around incendiary communal issues, but it is absurd to suggest, as journalists have done, that
development is the only issue that matters.

Or that once communal passions have been invoked — in some sections of the voting public, mind you — the development agenda ceases to matter.

Voters don’t toss a coin and go in for one or the other — they see the complete package. In a state like Gujarat, where opinions are sharply divided and Modi is either admired or reviled, there are no fence-sitters.

Voters have not suddenly woken up to Modi the administrator or forgotten Modi the man who presided over the state when it was in the throes of the worst communal pogrom in recent times.

They know him and know his successes and failures and will measure him on the basis of their own, quotidian experiences.

And why separate development from the riots? Both are governance issues of equal importance.

The citizen wants electricity and water, but also wants security and a life of dignity. Anyone who knows the Gujarat of today is aware that the last two are not available to every citizen.What use is ‘development’ if you always worry about your and your family’s safety?

Modi’s reluctance to bring up the past was not because of high-mindedness or just a determination to show that he was the only custodian of Gujarat’s interests.

The ‘let bygones be bygones’ track serves Modi well. The riots have a resonance far beyond newspaper headlines or election campaigns. He doesn’t care if the Congress attacks him or the liberal, secular media criticises him; each barb only enhances his popularity and vote-catching ability.

It is the not-so-obvious impact of such reminders that can truly be a problem. Modi is still persona non grata in many countries and many diplomats tend to avoid Gujarat altogether.

Investment from foreign companies — which would otherwise rush to Gujarat for the advantages it offers — have been few and far between and even Indian industrialists, barring the ones that are already in the state, have tended to quietly keep away.

This is ironical, because the state has everything — a good workforce, canny businessmen, good infrastructure. In normal circumstances, Gujarat would have attracted a lot of high-end investment from western countries, but this has not happened.
The riots have tarnished the state’s reputation and Modi carries this stain.
Attending high-level business conclaves in Delhi or travelling to a few countries are like the perfumes of Arabia and will not wash that blot away.

‘Raking up’ those grisly days is not about votes — it is about him trying to distance himself from the one thing that continuously pulls him down.

In all probability, he will end up forming the government once again. The pundits and analysts have all unanimously said that he has the best chance.

And if that is the voters’ choice, so be it. Gujarat will continue to grow and prosper, because that is what Gujaratis do best. But try as he might, Modi will never be about development alone.

Email: sidharth01@dnaindia.net