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NARENDRA MODI – THE ULTIMATE BALANCER

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Believe each one of us must have seen the acrobat performing the art of tightrope walking. His is a very skilful job. He walks on a rope with two opposite forces pulling him on either side of the rope. The performer is bound to negotiate amidst these opposing forces and just a slight inclination on either side; he would trip.

A position of a politician is like this only. And if the politician is none other than the man at the summit Narendra Modi himself, the comparison become even starker.

So is Modi’s position similar to that of a tightrope walker? Well, not quite; it is much more stringent. Tightrope walker needs to negotiate between just one pair of the opposing force, whereas Modi, where he stands today, needs to handle multiple pairs of opposing forces at the same time. The margin for error is not much and in a hyper-political country like India, a small mistake and miscalculation while negotiating with these opposing forces can be decisively fatal.

NaMo’s development rhetoric came much later. He became blue eyed boy of Hindu hardliners post 2002 Gujarat riots and later got BJP re-elected in Gujarat in 2002. Once the dust settled after 2002 mayhem, people started looking at him as a doer and tough administrator and it was Hindu hardliners who propagated this perception.

He then changed track to the development, which he unveiled through his actions, to the precision in Gujarat. He handled bureaucracy effectively and took decisions with conviction. He was innovative as well which is epitomised by his initiatives like “Vibrant Gujarat” summit.

Despite all this, he always knew that his image of Hindu hardliners remains his biggest political asset and he ensured that he maintained that. He denied the usual political methods and notions. That was the reason he refused wearing a skull cap when offered by Muslim representative on stage. That was his sheer conviction.

But situation changes post May 2014, when he became a pan-India leader. This is where his amazing negotiation skills became all the more important as after becoming PM, he was entangled with multiple opposing pressures and forces. On issues like intolerance, Rohit suicide and JNU row, he was caught in a catch 22 situation. He knew that any routine rhetoric as PM may not go well with his core support base and thus he meticulously remained tight-lipped. When pressure mounted, he invoked President Mukherjee’s name and very astutely put up his views as PM of the country without actually antagonising his core followers.

His core political backers (RSS and hardliners) and his development mantra do not go hand in hand most of the time. They cross path so very often. Modi, however, knows the threshold limit up to which he can drag the issue. As one of the rare instances he budged on his ambitious Land Reform bill as pressure from RSS mounted and he knew that he couldn’t afford to alienate RSS at that point in time. Moreover, he could sense that despite his genuine reformist agenda behind the land bill, perception is going in other direction.

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His timing of action and his flexible approach remains immaculate so far as PM. After May 2014, Modi used his extraordinary oratory skills many times in both house of parliament to nail congress down but then he realised that it may not help him in garnering support in RAJYA SABHA. He mellowed down and got the constitution amendment bill for rolling out GST cleared in the upper house. But he knows that verbal punches remain one of his biggest political strength, don’t be surprised if you see watching him again baiting Congress and other opposition parties, once he feels that his agenda is safe.

As PM of the country, he knows that he needs to infuse confidence to the minorities that he cares about them. However, the counter risk is that his ardent follower may take it as usual politics of minority appeasement. But he knows how to do it. Example – Last year during his speech at Wembley Stadium, London he invoked the name of Imran Khan, the teacher from Alwar who is tirelessly working on developing mobile apps. Ostensibly the quote was about aspiring India but the real intention was different.

He is master of words and timing, which is helping him immensely in taking these counter forces. When Subramanian Swamy fired the salvo on RBI Governor; in a subtle but clear & loud manner, he gave a clear message to him. Swamy has been silent ever since. Modi very well knew that any direct action on Swamy may backfire and he handled him very well.

He realised that his usual strategy of keeping mum on UNA DALIT issue can cost BJP dearly during the forthcoming UP and Punjab elections. Thus he decided to take a calculated risk of slamming “GAURAKSHAKs”. It stirred some resentment among hardliners but it was the risk worth taking and he timed it impeccably.

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Mahatma Gandhi once said that mean and objective, both should be virtuous. Other thought, however, that is, as long as the objective is bona fide and virtuous, some deviations are acceptable on the path to achieving that. It’s a chain actually. If you have to bring change, you need to be at the helm for a longer period. If you need to stay on the top, then you have to survive in the prevailing ecosystem at any cost. Modi is doing just that.
So next time you get mesmerised while watching stunt of tightrope walking, think of Modi, who is doing a job multiple time difficult than the rope walker. Then decide what exactly Narendra Modi is?
A rarest of the rare breed for sure.

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