PM Modi and his Internet Hindus

PM Modi is gradually losing support from a section of his core constituency i.e. Internet Hindus.  

Since taking office several small incidents have rocked this group to the core.   What has led to this rising anger against BJP’s govt is not so much the incident itself but the fact that top leaders of the BJP are now openly consorting and fraternizing with the same enemy who till a few months ago was hell bent on preventing NaMo from taking office.

BJP’s own ministers find it more appealing to ignore the right wing agenda and break bread with discredited, corrupt, compromised media pimps.

Moreover, this army of dedicated supporters took up arms against and defeated an enemy that BJP itself was never able to vanquish.  This may sound like a bombastic statement, but BJP’s own resources lacked a critical weapon in this war i.e. credibility

Sonia’s carefully cultivated media pimps had successfully countered LKA’s bid for PMship in 2009.  But with little more than an internet connection and shear resourcefulness this army of Internet Hindus went to fight on behalf of the PM.  Sonia’s efforts to spread lies against NaMo through her paid channels – media, AAP, etc. were neutralized largely due to the efforts of these Internet Hindus.

With no personal agendas, this group carried far more credibility than any BJP spokesperson or friendly media face.

Sonia’s media peddled a lie about NaMo – his performance as CM of Gujarat, Gujarat’s development model, etc.  Internet Hindus researched facts and presented them to the larger internet community.  These facts were repeated and reinforced across social media, blogs, comments sections, etc. and media’s black ops strategies were neutralized.

News anchors were check mated such that they could no longer host evening programs without taking cognizance of these facts.  If they ran a news items and omitted facts highlighted by Internet Hindus, outrage on social media would lead to a loss of credibility.  Unlike 2009, media was unable to peddle lies in an unending loop to paint NaMo as a ‘marketing phenomenon’ or a ‘communal monster’.

Sonia’s media was neutered and their attacks on NaMo boomeranged. 

On the flip side, without a clean, honest, proven leader like NaMo, none of this would have worked.  Fighting for NaMo was vastly different from fighting for LKA.  But even NaMo would acknowledge the contribution of his Internet Hindus.

Sadly, their emotions are blinding Internet Hindus to ground realities.

a.       PM Modi cannot control every leaf that falls from every branch of every tree.  He has taken complete control where it matters most as evidenced by his insistence on appointing key babus in every ministry.  He cannot micro manage down to a point where his generals revolt or sulk.  Pushing them to account for every minute of their lives would engender resentment and have adverse consequences on their performance

c.       While NDA2 may seem like appeasing minorities the ground realities are a bit different.  Actions which till April of 2014 were unimaginable are now routine.  Example:  clearing slums established by housing illegal Bangladeshis, reconversions, introduction of Sanskrit, etc.

a.       This suggests a careful carrot-and-stick strategy.  Appease minorities but affect a deeper social, economic and demographic change on the ground

d.      A massive military buildup across Indo-China border

e.      A smash mouth response to Paki provocations

f.        Dawood on the run

g.       A rapid scaling up of infrastructure development

h.      Controlling inflation

i.         Forcing Congress out of its strongholds

Moreover, the PM has seldom taken decisions without careful consideration.  His greatest quality is that he’s a brilliant listener and takes decisions after carefully considering all sides of the issue. 

Swatting a media mosquito or a small time babu is not a PM’s job.  He has much bigger dragons to slay.

Sonia has gifted him a patient with stage 4 cancer.  He has to first stop the cancer from spreading, heal the patient, reinstate her health and finally prepare her for battle.

We Internet Hindus in our anger over BJP leaders hobnobbing with media personalities are missing this larger picture.  PM Modi is clearly working to a plan.  He cannot possibly go public with it.  So give him 3-4 years and then judge his performance.

Given his track record, I’m certain he will exceed even our lofty expectations.