Instead of wizened village elders, the traditional mainstay of election rallies in India, the ground is buzzing with youngsters of all ages, shapes and sizes.
Idiom of the campaign has shifted from communal Hindutva to development but the tone and tenor is as aggressive and belligerent
VADNAGAR: There’s a curious near-absence of grey in the crowd waiting patiently in the midday sun for Narendra Modi to arrive in his birthplace of Vadnagar, some 80 km north of Ahmedabad. Instead of wizened village elders, the traditional mainstay of election rallies in India, the ground is buzzing with youngsters of all ages, shapes and sizes.
They are cocky, brash and upwardly mobile, flush with prosperity from an economic surge powered by free flowing Narmada waters, electricity on demand and shining roads. They are the symbols of the Gujarat story Modi spins in his campaign speeches, the new rising classes raring to replace a crumbling feudal order.
And there are women, lots and lots of them, young and not so young. Their number keeps swelling as more hurry in, clutching newborn infants and toddlers. Three hours later, Modi still hasn’t arrived but now, the women almost outnumber the men. They smile sheepishly when asked why they’ve come. “We just wanted to see him,” confessed Komal who bunked school to attend the rally.
The unusual audience mix highlights Modi’s trademark exclusivist style of politics. If in 2002, he sought the Hindu vote at the cost of Gujarat’s 9% Muslim population, in 2007, he’s turned his back on GenEx and single-mindedly focused on the youth and women. It’s the old polarisation tactic at work. But this time, the split he’s sought to create is not along communal lines but on age and gender. Divide and rule. That’s Modi’s policy.
Five years ago, he was the aggressive “protector” of Hindus. Today, he’s macho man, Gujarat’s political rock star, peddling aspirational dreams to the youth. His face is emblazoned on saffron T-shirts and orange cravats. His ads ooze sex appeal with talk of his “56-inch chest”, a metaphor for manliness. He’s never shown smiling. The image-makers have carefully crafted an angry not-so-young man persona for him.
“It’s working wonders with the women,” crowed a Modi strategist. Yet, the more things change, the more they remain the same. The idiom of the campaign has shifted from communal Hindutva to development but the tone and tenor is as aggressive and belligerent. Only the target is different. “Who cares about Keshubhai? He’s a has-been,” scoffed Samir Patel. “Us younger Patels are all with Modi.”
This young gift shop owner from Vadnagar was almost menacing in his defence of his icon. He had to be physically restrained before he calmed down. But not before he delivered a parting shot. “I’m ready to die for him,” he exclaimed dramatically as he moved away.
Modi is a gambler. Last time, he risked a surcharged communal campaign, banking on the security cover of a BJP-led government at the Centre. This time, he’s taken on the old order of the entire parivar in the fight for an unfettered right to rule. His camp revealed that he’s been preparing for this final showdown for the past three years by creating an alternative network of foot soldiers which is personally loyal to him.
The question is whether he’s been able to institutionalise this to take on the established cadre of the BJP, VHP and other saffron units. He’s banking heavily on the carefully cultivated appeal to the youth and women. More than half the candidates fielded by him are under 50 years of age. He’s also put up as many as 22 women nominees, the highest Gujarat has seen.
A Modi aide explained that this was the only way to trump the caste rebellion by the Patel community and the anti-incumbency undercurrent that seems to be running through rural areas as yet untouched by the benefits of development.
These elections are the biggest test of Modi’s political career. They are also fraught with implications for the BJP, which is still searching for a face to take on Rahul Gandhi’s Congress. It remains to be seen whether Modi can pull it off.
a_jerath@dnaindia.net
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