COVER STORY
Modi ’ s speech was a clarion call . A call that said he is restless , he is impatient , he is anxious to move forward , were pointers of his ambition to be there asking for another chance to carry his work forward .
Challenges Ahead
Close to 2019 General Elections , Prime Minister is up against challenges which will decide who the next PM will be more than which government comes to power . The prime challenge and what is important is that he faces the grand alliance , the Mahagathbandhan , stitched up lately . And so this time , he aimed at reaching out not to alliance partners , but newer constituencies of Dalits , OBCs , minorities and others . Major opposition parties have come together with the prime aim of ‘ Modi Mukt Bharat ’. Congress has sharpened its attacks and is in the final process of chalking out lethal and unmissable strategy to corner Modi and his policies . AICC General Secretary Ashok Gehlot says Congress is ready for the elections if they are preponed as Modi pushes for ‘ One Nation , One Poll ’. Congress too has devised its slogan against BJP . Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala says BJP is following the policy of ' Divide , Deceive and Distort '. The party attacks Modi of strangulating the voice of media too after overlooking judiciary .
Rahul Gandhi has not just trained himself to be aggressively vocal in attacking Modi personally as well as on his style of functioning , like the dishing out ‘ jumlas ’ and acronyms like ‘ reform , perform & transform ,’ the Congress President has taken on the mother organization RSS with blistering attacks at its very nature on outside soil . Rafale scam is being positioned as its nemesis . Recently Kerala floods have pitched centre against the state over humanitarian assistance for the flood ravaged people . Rajasthan Congress is claiming of bogus voter list numbering into thousands . TMC , TDP , BSP , SP , CPI , RJD and other satraps have closed ranks to present a united coalition . Crimes like rapes and girl child abuse have figures breaking all records particularly in the northern belt . Cow vigilante and moral policing are on a free run . Lumpen elements are bereft of fear of law . Eating and dressing as a matter of personal choice is at all time risk . PM ' s J & K thrust and policy on Kashmir having hit the rock , Modi appeared on the backfoot as he exhorted Vajpai ’ s , ‘ Insaaniyat , Jamhooriyat , Kashmiriyat .’ Finally the Prime Minister will have to answer for this .
Economy is the biggest challenge that Modi might face a backlash on . Inflation is high , oil prices are going steeper by the day , and job situation is tense and getting worse . If oil prices continue to rise , it will affect the rupee which will affect inflation . At the end Prime Minister Modi can only win election on the state of the economy . Challenges are cleargrowth is sliding , rupee is in problem , banks are in serious trouble . Add to this the Nirav Modi and Mehul Chauksi scam of debt and defaulting that has taken a toll on the much publicized clean image of the system under Modi .
Farmer agitation and the disenchantment in the farmer communities are only simmering . Prime Minister ’ s promise of 50 percent increase in MSP is not really on ground and there is not much that his rhetoric will be able to do now .
On the international stage US sanctions on Iran will affect India . The Trump-leashed tariff war between US & China will hurt India badly too .
Clarion Call
Words apart , how much have the promises made in the last 4 years translated on ground , is a contentious matter . The Prime Minister ’ s speech was designed to address antiincumbency , to be back to being the change agent .
Modi ’ s speech was a clarion call . A call that said he is restless , he is impatient , he is anxious to move forward , were pointers of his ambition to be there asking for another chance to carry his work forward . His speeches all along have been about his hard work , his life , his vision for the country which he uses as influencers . It was a far more politically significant oratorial performance as some would call it - a mix of political and personal . Undoubtedly Modi is a master or symbols and oratory .
The template of his speech was clearly Lok Sabha elections 2019 which by all guesses may be just about four months away . Will the people buy what the master orator is saying ? His task is more challenging this time . But he seems convinced that he ’ s going to come back in power .
Ending his speech with poetry was a first too . Was Prime Minister Modi trying to reposition himself as a softer , more inclusive leader ? Starting with placing himself as futuristic he said that his goal ( manzil ) was to finish what he had promised .
* Priti Prakash is an Independent Journalist , Travel Blogger , Political Commentator , and Foreign Correspondent
46 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 6 • Issue 8 • August 2018 , Noida