Narendra Modi has changed the paradigm of Indian politics and initiated a new politics based on economic well-being and last-mile targeted delivery that has dismantled old politics of feudalism, favouritism, casteism and rhetorics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI
Every election since 2014, whether the seemingly invincible BJP has lost or won, has shown that old politics of caste politics and negative campaigns has been marginalised. Seventy years of wallowing in poverty politics that told the poor that we have no funds, we are trying hard in 70 years versus seven years of targeted delivery to the last person in the queue has shown the people that they were denied the basic dignity in life by the people who claimed to be struggling to remove poverty but played with poor.
People have re-elected a government if they feel it is delivering or o for change where they have found that ruling party has become insensitive to the lethargic governance. It sounds good for any psephologist to use the term “anti-incumbency”, but it has become a mere phrase, or parties won’t be elected for 2-3 terms. In this round, Goa has given BJP a third chance while UP and Uttarakhand have given it a second chance — unprecedented and against all set ‘traditions’.
Women relegated to secondary voter who would vote as per family diktat have risen as an independent voter who is not enamoured by caste but looks at a new life of dignity and ease of living.
Voting on caste basis has been totally marginalised. In the latest round in Uttar Pradesh and other states, voters have clearly agreed that the Modi-Yogi jodi has delivered. No amount of casteist or minority vote-bank politics instigation worked. Indication is that Muslim votes for BJP are increasing slowly as they see benefits to them accruing.
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No analysts have highlighted that BJP success has happened on the back of the biggest disaster of the millennium that saw governments thrown out across the world. And huge propaganda about corpse in Ganga. Obviously people knew better. The voting percentage for BJP has increased from 40 per cent to 41.5 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. It’s the same in other states.
We await for sectoral analysis of voting pattern, but it is obvious that aspirations and acceptance of last-mile delivery of relief during Covid and overall ease of living with DBT, toilets, homes, gas, etc., have worked wonders and given dignity to the poorest of the citizens, especially women. Women are no more dictated by head of the household or mukhiya. This is a huge change. They have voted for any politician who can make their lives easier. No caste loyalty for her.
Voter is impatient now. This impatience has no ideology. We have seen BJP being shown the door in a few places, we have seen some parties being decimated slowly into oblivion. In this election we saw BJP in a bind in Goa and Uttarakhand before it finally got through, mainly on the back of Narendra Modi’s commitment to and delivery on development.
People have given a chance to a new party in Punjab that has dubious record in delivery and a leader who is known for his “imbalance” any time of the day. Clearly people gave up on two ruling parties — Congress and Akali Dal. The BJP suffered for supporting the Akalis and being not in power despite being in government.
In 2022, we see that except a particular sub-group no other community or caste has voted on the basis of caste. The thinking of a voter is simply the measure: “Have I seen improvement in my life?”
Like old age politicians, psephologists can’t get over their obsession with caste-based analysis. Nor can our old age political leaders think beyond vote-banks. Their lack of understanding or readiness to learn anew is obvious when they look at Muslims as one block but Hindus as caste groups even now. They fail or refuse to see multiple-layered identity of Muslims as Ashrafs, Ajlafs and Pasmandas, or their multiple sects. Christians too have different sects, caste divisions and different world views. If not, the BJP wouldn’t have won Goa this time too when a dominant Church was totally against it. Economic well-being is the primary touchstone now. Good economics submerges caste identities and discriminations. This has been the observation since long.
It is high time that our “opinion leaders” and “analysts” specially of vintage Left-secular variety and the political leaders brought up on casteist and communal politics move out of the paradigm that people have abandoned, visibly, since 2014.
The 2022 election results have yet again proven that casteism is no more the driving force of electoral politics. Interestingly, I had pointed this out in my election analysis in 2017 too. (Here is the link – https://secretsofrss.blogspot.com/2017/03/politics-of-aspirations-pipped-caste.html?q=2017)
For many analysts, the elections are only a reiteration of the strengthening of Hindutva and communal polarisation as the real reason for BJP’s success. This is narrow worldview. Hindutva is the binder that holds together the politics of development. Hindutva politics without real delivery to the last person in the queue won’t be able to win a couple of elections. Just as pure economic well-being alone won’t help BJP succeed. After all, Deendayal Upadhyay and other RSS ideologues from Shri Guruji onwards have pointed out that only material well-being does not satisfy a human being. A human being can be happy when his spiritual and mental needs are satisfied too. The BJP under Modi seems to have found the right mix of material well-being and spiritual satisfaction.
Modi has changed the paradigm of Indian politics and initiated a new politics based on economic well-being and last-mile targeted delivery that has dismantled old politics of feudalism, favouritism, casteism and rhetorics. Politicians who understand this new politics, will thrive and survive. Arvind Kejriwal is the latest example. He too will have to deliver, or he will come to grief soon. Rhetoric is no substitute for delivery. Analysts and opinion makers too need to relook at their assumptions and relearn their trade, or they will become irrelevant. No amount of breast beating and self-pity will keep their trade alive. India has changed, electorate has changed. Now our politicians, opinion leaders and psephologists need to change.
There is no denying that Hindutva has become the central pole of Bharatiya politics and rightly so, because our nation cannot progress till it identifies and reconnects with its roots. No political party can overlook this fact. Insulting Hindus in the name of Hindutva is no more accepted. Any politician who tries this trick has come to grief in the changed environment.
I read with amusement the outpouring of ‘intellectuals’ who talk about failing ‘idea of India’ that was birthed by British and nurtured by Nehru in 1947. They still can’t come out of Western narrative and see that Bharat is a perennial living civilisation with strong sense of nationhood for thousands of years. It is not the mythical idea of India that is dying. It is reawakening of spirit of Bharat that is overwhelming the rotting rootless Nehruvian and Marxist framework.
The writer is a well-known author and columnist. He has written seven books on RSS and done his PhD on RSS. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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