Is PM Modi hurtling toward another ‘India Shining’ moment in
2019?
To analyze this scary scenario we must first understand that phenomenon called ‘India Shining’?
By almost any yardstick ABV’s NDA govt had delivered on all
fronts. After a decade of scandals and
coalition fiascos, ABV gave India unprecedented economic growth and stability. Indian foreign policy acquired a new edge and sense of urgency. There was a real sense of India having turned
the corner and poised to take its rightful place with the big boys of global
politics.
Lok sabha results of 2004 shattered those dreams. Many political pundits blamed the flawed ‘India
Shining’ campaign devised by Pramod Mahajan.
But the root cause lay much deeper.
The battle was lost long before campaigning commenced. At best the campaign could have been tweaked
to suggest an ‘India Rising’. But that
too would have failed to get BJP close to the magic figure of 182 seats.
Team BJP was gung ho about its prospects. Most pundits and psephologists predicted a
comfortable majority for NDA. A deeply
divided and fragmented opposition had no counter to the stature and popularity
of ABV. Sonia “We have two hundreyd and
seventhy thoo seats” Gandhi was seen as a weak counter to ABV. NDA had a solid record of governance (GDP, jobs, infrastructure, foreign policy) to present
to Indian voters. What could possibly go
wrong? But go wrong, it did. And left India with a lost decade.
As PM Modi’s NDA 2 hums along on multiple fronts, it is hard
to imagine a repeat of ‘India Shining’ in 2019.
But constraints of time, resources and political wiggle room are
conspiring to land NDA2 in just such a ‘Chakravuyh’. The emerging political dynamics in the run up
to 2019 are eerily similar to those prevailing in 2002-2004.
Coming Soon:
Part 2: Why NDA 2 may
be heading towards ‘India Shining 2’
Part 3: How to
prevent a repeat of ‘India Shining’
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