I am not sure that there is a Modi wave, and, in truth, neither is Mr. Modi. Hence, despite the optimism of his backers having breached rarefied realms of fantasy, Mr. Modi remains cautious and pragmatic. He is contesting from two constituencies, one adventurous and one safe. He also continues to welcome people back into the BJP fold, people who had been forced out of the party as part of its anti-corruption and more moderate posturing. The objective is to assuage opposition and add more votes to the party tally. Of course, the most egregious inductions have had to be rescinded to avoid a loss of face and, more importantly, a loss of votes. I can, however, confirm a strong support for Mr. Modi among my fellow passengers on the evening cab from office to home. As one of them pointed out, we are already at the nadir, so Mr. Modi cannot really drag the country any lower. As such, why not give him a chance? He, after all, has greater governance credentials than his opponent. That is pretty sound logic.
My fellow passengers keep encouraging each other to go to the polling booths on April 17th and cast their vote in favor of Mr. Modi. No, none of them is ignorant of how representative democracy in India works. They just don't care as much about their MP as they do about their PM. Tax reforms, controlling prices, and better economic climate in the country, after all, don't depend on the MP! But, given that Indian system has a PM and a Cabinet of Ministers who decide on and introduce bills in Parliament, and determine the actions of the President of India through their advice, is it not a possibility that the PM could be undermined by his Ministers, or even worse - as has been witnessed in the past decade - by a party supremo not accountable to the nation? So, while I am inclined to give Mr. Modi a chance to champion the nation's cause, I would want to know how Mr. Modi plans to keep in check subversive forces in his own shadow. If I happen to strengthen these restraining forces by electing the BJP candidate from my constituency, would I not be impairing Mr. Modi's tenure as also hampering India's chances?
Meanwhile, in BJP's messages interleaved with the broadcast of the Twenty-20 World Cup, we see the BJP seeking a vote for Mr. Modi on the grounds that a team without a captain is but a headless chicken. But, the sporting analogy, confusingly, also highlights the point that a captain is only as good as his team! And the practice, at least in sports, is to choose a captain from among individuals carefully picked to form the team. Though the BJP has, knowingly or otherwise, inverted the selection process, should I not want to know who all figure in the list of probables, if not particularly in the squad, or even in the final team? A good captain must, of course, trust and delegate responsibility to the most able individuals under his charge. Even the greatest captain is himself not the team, is he?
All said and done, the only party sure of the prevalence of the Modi wave, ironically, seems to be the Congress. After ridiculing the BJP for seeking votes not in the name of ideology or policy visions, but a cult of personality, the Congress is asking for votes and trying to sew alliances to keep Mr. Modi from becoming the PM. When your only shot at relevance in the polls is in negating the opposition candidate, your dearth of ideas is as conspicuous as your lack of leaders.
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