Pratap Bhanu Mehta in the Indian Express:
“Incumbents can’t win, they said. Narendra Modi proved them wrong. Sonia Gandhi has acquired a new aggression, they said. Modi cut her down to size. Caste equations would work against Modi, they said. Modi managed to rise above standard caste politics. India is experiencing a political backlash against growth, they said. Modi has ridiculed that idea. It is impossible to win if a significant section of the party works against you, they said. Modi has proved that the party is dependent on the leader rather than the other way round. You can’t cater to both tribals and capitalists, they said. Modi has turned this logic on its head. So-called normal politics would triumph over the politics of polarisation, they said. Modi has made nonsense of this distinction. Modi has created a new paradigm in Indian politics, whose ramifications will be felt for years to come.
“Modi’s win calls for a serious reflection on the so-called secular/ communal divide. Why does secular politics carry less credibility than it ought to? Why does secularism remain a mere slogan, a straw that bends in every wind? Part of the reason is that the secular/communal divide is not, as the Congress would like to believe, a divide between two species of Indian citizens: one secular and one communal. It is a fissure that runs within most citizens, rather than between them.”
Read the full article: Why the idea of Modi wins
Cartoon: E.P. Unny/ The Indian Express
24 December 2007 at 9:09 am
A perfect Opinion column by PB Mehta!
24 December 2007 at 10:21 am
Very well said. Communalism is deep rooted in the minds of the Congress. It thinks that it can play this card always. Gujarat people have selected the party they want. Let the state prosper, after all they too are Indians. The local leader knows the pulse of the people, not the High Command. At least, let the Gujarat Congress people start thinking independently.
24 December 2007 at 10:28 am
Where are you all hiding? After the most one-sided partisan comments from all of them and most onesided results! I mean the Pundits from NDTV, CNN-IBN, Times Now and the Big Press barons-Vinod Mehta, Sanghvi …..Probably behind ponytails of you know who!!!