In the late 80s and early 90s Narendra Modi  was virtually unknown. He fought very hard to accomplish the tasks given to him by the Senior Leaders of BJP. Towards the later part of the decade, we saw a belligerent Modi moving closer to his political ambition of becoming the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

In 2001, Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, got promoted to the office at a time his predecessor Kesubhai Patel lost the by-elections. In July 2007, he became the longest serving Chief Minister.  Later the same year, he was re-elected for the third consecutive term as the CM.

In 2001, just when he took office Modi was given the task of rebuilding Gujarat. This was in the wake of the biggest natural calamity India had seen – The Gujarat Earthquake which killed nearly 20000 people and another 170000 injured.  Modi was a man on a mission

In 2002, he faced the biggest test of his life – There was a communal riot in which Hindus and Muslims killed each other following a Godhra train incident. The riot killed nearly 2000 people and about 150000 were displaced.  The entire nation was pitted against him and some even went to the extent of terming the Godhra incident as an attempted genocide, a largescale massacre.

Modi did not sit quiet. What followed was a successful stint – one after the other. In his first term as the Gujarat Chief Minister, the economic growth touched 10%. In 2007, the growth touched a stunning 11.5% reducing the fiscal deficit of the state economy by a stunning 50%.

Other noticeable achievements included infrastructural developments, electrifying rural Gujarat, the Narmada success story etc.

Narendra Modi’s leadership and his extraordinary capabilities made him the darling of media. And soon a brand called Moditva emerged. Modi translated excessive criticisms and a burgeoning popularity into mass votes which made gave him a landslide victory in his third time.

Advani once said about Modi

A leader who, after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, has been able to impress even his critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time.

The year 2008 saw Modi take a complete u-turn with industrialists and politicians alike yearning for a piece of the pie in the Gujarat success story. Budha’s pain was Modi’s gain. Under the leadership of Modi, Gujarat opened the doors for Tata and Sanand became the Nanoland.

Modi did not stop there. He continues to woo Bangalore based IT and BPO companies to set up their units in Modiland. 

If this was not enough, Modi surprised all his critics as late as last week. He embarked on a demolition drive of “illegally built temples” in Gujarat including that of a Sai Baba and a Hanuman shrine. Facing the axe are another 161 illegally constructed temples.

Modi invited widespread criticisms for his actions especially from VHP – the erstwhile ideological partner of the BJP. In fact Ashok Singhal, of the VHP compared his government to that of Aurangazeb’s. Modi loyalists however argued that he was painting a picture of a Nationally acceptable, Secular Leader

Read the words once again – “Nationally Acceptable, Secular Leader.” Wow !!!

That made me think a dozen times before I wrote this article.

Is Narendra Modi really trying to lead by example ? Your comments please…

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Image Credit-Verde

The Presidential Election of the most influential country in the world is only a few days away. As many observers have noted, it is a historic election since the winning ticket will either have the first African-American President or the first woman Vice President. The election results will have implications beyond the US boundaries since both the campaigns have been promising a fundamental change in the way US conducts its domestic and international affairs. Understandably, the whole world is following the election with great interest.

Several polls and surveys have been conducted in different countries across the world to find which Presidential candidate is popul in these countries.  A BBC poll conducted in 22 countries revealed that Democrat  Barack Obama was preferred over Republican  John McCain by a 4-to-1 margin. A survey conducted in Germany showed that 72 percent preferred  Obama over  McCain.  It is not surprising that when Obama made a speech in Berlin, 200,000 people turned up to listen to him.  The most comprehensive poll was conducted by Gallup. Gallup’s polls indicate that Obama is the overwhelming favorite in Europe, Africa (Obama’s father was a Kenyan), most of Middle East Asia and Developed Asia (Japan, S.Korea, Singapore and Australia).

Now here comes the most interesting part.

9 of 10 respondents in both India and Pakistan did not have an opinion/preference for either candidate. In summary, 7% of Indian respondents favored Obama and 2 % favored McCain. The response of Indians in the Gallup poll is remarkable considering the fact that India and US are moving closer to each other at economic, political and cultural levels.  It is very much possible that the 10% who expressed their preference are from urban India who have personal stakes in the US election (probably their near and dear are in US).

. So, which candidate is good for India ? Obama has expressed the view that firms outsourcing jobs outside will not get tax breaks.

Obama is also reported to have voted to reduce the number of visas for foreign workers. This might have a negative impact on Indian IT firms. Obama is cautious about free trade whereas McCain is a strong supporter of free trade and has fewer difficulties with outsourcing. Obama also supports subsidies for American farmers.

It is not just Obama,  his Democratic party has always been less enthusiastic about free trade and favor protectionism. It was during the presidency of Bill Clinton(considered to be a pro-Indian President), another Democrat, that US imposed sanctions against India for conducting the nuclear test. And it was a Republican President, George Bush, who redefined US’s relation with India and took it a much higher plane. He played a crucial role in ending India’s nuclear isolation. It is doubtful if Republicans would have imposed sanctions against India if they were in power. So, in general, Republicans are perceived to be better for Indo-US relations.

Eminent “Economic Times” columnist Swaminathan S. A. Aiyar discusses these issues in further detail and cautions Indians not to be too excited about an Obama victory. He sums up saying that an Obama victory will be great for US but not necessarily for India. Interestingly, Swaminathan Aiyar’s article was partially reprinted in the US newspaper Wall Street Journal as an argument against electing Obama. Wall Street Journal is a conservative and pro-Business newspaper owned by media Mogul Rupert Murdoch (The same guy who introduced Star TV in India) and is unabashedly anti-Obama.

To his credit, Obama recognizes the increasing influence of Indian-American community in US politics. He said that he supports the Indo-US nuclear deal, greeted the Sikh community on the tercentenary of Guru Granth and claims that he has a Hanuman idol in his home as a lucky charm. (This news led Hanuman Bhaktas in Delhi to conduct a 11 day pooja and sent a 15 kg idol to Obama)

Only time will tell how the result of the US presidential elections is going to affect the world in general and India in particular.  Let us hope that whoever wins, the effect on the world is a positive one. In the meantime, let us enjoy the nail-biting finish to the presidential campaign on November 4^th.

PS:  Will we see an Indo-American as a US president soon ? There are already talks about Bobby Jindal’s suitability as a probable Republican Presidential candidate in 2012. Here are the arguments for and against his candidature

It is definitely getting interesting!!

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