By Amita Ghose:
Crores of devoted listeners, big platforms, provoking speeches, pseudo supportive media (who are always hungry for TRP) and newborn controversies everyday – in the purview of 2014 General elections, it is not surprising to see prominent personalities indulging themselves in verbal assassinations of each other. ‘The Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi’ verbal war is soaring high. The delivery, the language, the tempting punches — the script writer must be credited for that.
One must ask, what’s new in it? Ideally the two main contenders should play on their own positives as Modi promoting his development model and youth empowerment and Rahul talking on the populist or so called pro people and pro poor schemes of his Govt. Soon, it proved to be not enough and Modi is observed to take a rebellious role while countering opposition by calling PM ‘a sardar who is not asardar’ or addressing Rahul as the ‘shahezada of Nehru-Gandhi clan’. Congress is not far behind, they are not letting any opportunity go in vain where they can actually transform the ‘Magical Modi‘ into a ‘Racist Modi‘. The stale bread of 2002 Godhra Riots is still chewed by congress on every occasion, likewise NaMo taunts them incessantly on the old ‘Congress Rajneeti’ of sympathy votes.
Now, let’s take an analytical and comparative view of current position of both the contenders. 1stly, this trend of mudslinging on each other is never going to help in winning the election. Indian political history had enough of it. Indians have had much of it. A country which has 50% of its population under 25 years of age would never commit its vote to one who only speaks well. Talking sense and doing productive work is the key to the throne, high time for the youth icon to understand that. A study showed that Modi, in 68 of his speeches, uttered the word ‘development’ 534 times. The Gujarat development model is now one of the NRIs’ attractions in India.
2ndly, a strong foresight and great experience adds on to the chances. The great gambling of communal propaganda might act as a boomerang. Here again, Modi buckles up and takes a stand on Muzaffarnagar Riots and Rahul mindlessly comments that local youth is in contact with ISI. Modi was barely found talking about hindutva or uttering the word ‘hindu’ in a number of speeches lastly. 3rdly, Mr. Gandhi, whose speeches surely contain words like India, Indians, Voice, Power and Youth etc. should try something beyond that. He might be a step forward on humanitarian grounds than Modi (Godhara Riots is immortal) but a practical, thoughtful and proactive leader is needed who would prove to be trustworthy. 4thly, if we analyze a very recent speech given by Mr. Modi, he asked the people to make him the ‘chaukidar’ of this country which can be intellectually interpreted as desperate urge to be in power, while Rahul’s same old chants of the sacrifice of his mother and whole family never fetches any sympathy for him. The political gurus believe the time has changed and people too have. On this ground, Rahul and Modi both can be kept at almost the same position. Lastly, India is not just comprised of the youth and the development friendly class. There is this another class who needs food, who want safeguard of the Government. Rahul addresses those and pitches for a classless society where NaMo seems dipped into promoting a cosmopolitan structure of the whole nation. The common man might not like that. He is already facing a lot of questions regarding the present condition of Gujarat riot victims after some startling exposures by the media.
This unbeatable dual would surely continue till the final collision of Loksabha Elections, 2014 but to which extent they will drag this up to, is the current matter of concern. On the record and off the record, countless controversies will be created but at the end of the day, it can be said that he who would play it right, will scale the height, the height of ‘Delhi Sultanate’.