Narendra Modi vs the Dynasty: Contrasting Ideas of India

[ashashi]

^ No. That is 3.8% of NDA voters, so the other 96.2% are NDA voters who will vote NDA only with or without NM.

No. It means 3.8% of the NDA voters would not vote for BJP if NoMo is the candidate. Does not say anything about the remaining 96.2% of the NDA voters in BJP. However, NaMO would bring in 21% new voters to BJP.

And, 31.5% of the NDA voters nationally will not vote for BJP if NaMo is NOT the candidate.

Win, Win proposition with NaMo.

[Ashok Sarraff]

I was thinking that NM should pick his deputy soon. Could be Parrikar, Shivraj Singh or Raman Singh. In case the congi hitmen get him, there should be someone to get benefitted by the huge sympathy wave that would ensue. In case there is no cleary identifiable deputy, the sympathy wave might get diffused. A carefully chosen deputy would also help blunt media criticism and fetch incremental votes from people who like him (the deputy) but not NM.

[suryag]

SSC if he is amenable, his being a thakur(?) helps in expanding and consolidating the upper class vote base(?) in the cow belt

[Sushupti]

[ramana]

I was thinking that NM should pick his deputy soon. Could be Parrikar, Shivraj Singh or Raman Singh. ...... In case there is no cleary identifiable deputy, the sympathy wave might get diffused. A carefully chosen deputy would also help blunt media criticism and fetch incremental votes from people who like him (the deputy) but not NM.

Why not LKAji as the new deputy?

That would ensure Modi is untouched.

[suryag]

Sushupti ji is it the Aam aadmi ka chiraag?

[Ashok Sarraff]

I was thinking that NM should pick his deputy soon. Could be Parrikar, Shivraj Singh or Raman Singh. ...... In case there is no cleary identifiable deputy, the sympathy wave might get diffused. A carefully chosen deputy would also help blunt media criticism and fetch incremental votes from people who like him (the deputy) but not NM.

Why not LKAji as the new deputy?

That would ensure Modi is untouched.

LKA wants to be the non-playing captain---I don't think he would like being the deputy.

[ramana]

Modi is best leader: Justice Krishna Iyer

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/06/20/m ... 92906.html

Thats some endorsement. So looks like a convergence is happening to change the ruling setup.

[muraliravi]

Yeddy Uvacha:

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 832011.ece

Less than a month after its leader B.S. Yeddyurappa declared that his political outfit, Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), had achieved its main objective of dividing votes in the recently held Assembly elections resulting in the defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the party took a U-turn saying it is now ready to forge an alliance with the BJP for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

KJP campaign committee chairman and former Union Minister V. Dhananjaya Kumar told a press conference in Bangalore on Wednesday that the KJP had taken this decision after the elevation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the party.

Later, he told The Hindu that his statement had the backing of KJP president and former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa. “The decision to have an open mind in forging an alliance with the BJP was taken at a meeting of prominent leaders of the party convened recently by Mr. Yeddyurappa himself,” he said. “It is mainly because of Mr. Modi’s elevation that we have an open mind to have a seat-sharing agreement with the BJP.” At the same time, he said there was no question of Mr. Yeddyurappa either rejoining the BJP or merging with the BJP.

“The KJP has decided to retain its identity. We are ready to join hands with other political parties, including the BJP without losing our identity,” he said.

He said the KJP was game for this only if a prominent central leader like Mr. Modi or BJP national president Rajnath Singh took a lead in finalising the seat-sharing pact. “We have decided not to pursue the matter on our own. We want the BJP to take the initiative and approach us,” he said.

[shyamoo]

I was thinking that NM should pick his deputy soon. Could be Parrikar, Shivraj Singh or Raman Singh. ...... In case there is no cleary identifiable deputy, the sympathy wave might get diffused. A carefully chosen deputy would also help blunt media criticism and fetch incremental votes from people who like him (the deputy) but not NM.

Why not LKAji as the new deputy?

That would ensure Modi is untouched.

On the contrary, Ramana garu, that would ensure that NaMo would be eliminated. Think about who would benefit with NaMo out of the way and LKA at the helm.. The c-system would be the biggest beneficiary. An alternate deputy would mean a dis-advantage to the c-system.

[krisna]

Justice krishna Iyer is a known leftist. severely critical of BJP.
he has been prasing NaMo for quite sometime (at least 2 years) but little more open nowadays.

[Mahendra]

L.K.A problem could be nothing else but caste...he cant seems to be able to comprehend the fact that a lower caste than him is being elected

Sorry Sirji, any evidence for that?

Lol purush, lota purush, love purush all that is okay but caste purush, not so sure

[krisna]

why masses love him- NaMo on ground during floods previously compared to termite queen aerial view.

Akhilesh of UP govt CM has refused to act immediately as it is kommunal Hindu pillgrim center.

congi CM so far has not cancelled his trip to swizterland.


paid media as usual doing its hit job.

[SaiK]

[quote="ramana"

I was thinking that NM should pick his deputy soon. Could be Parrikar, Shivraj Singh or Raman Singh. ...... In case there is no cleary identifiable deputy, the sympathy wave might get diffused. A carefully chosen deputy would also help blunt media criticism and fetch incremental votes from people who like him (the deputy) but not NM./quote]
Why not LKAji as the new deputy?

That would ensure Modi is untouched.

LKA wants to be the non-playing captain---I don't think he would like being the deputy.

What does he want? We have enough of all the oldies, and non-functional brains. MMS and LKA have similar age related disqualifications. If checks and balances from our constitution does not help us remove old heads, then vote power must.

And, do we need another string player like sonia? or did LKA learn some bad habits from her, and aspiring for it?

[Ashok Sarraff]

^
IMO, LKA want to be the PM, even if it's for only one day. He probably thinks that he relinquished PMship for Vajpayee and hence others should do it for him too. [Not that that's the best option for the country.]

[ashashi]

Advani meets RSS chief, airs his grievances

RSS made it a point to put out a brief statement on the meeting. It said, “In a detailed and candid interaction, Shri Advaniji conveyed his views on various developments in the country and the role of the party and the broad nationalist movement led by the sangh.

“It was opined that several issues need further discussion and exchange of notes at various levels. Same will take place at appropriate time. Shri Bhagwatji also suggested that such useful exchange of views should continue in future also.”

Thats a polite way of telling Advani that his views are not important anymore.

Since the RSS message, all senior leaders in the BJP have been hinting openly that Mr. Modi would be projected as the prime ministerial candidate ahead of the 2014 general election. At a press conference here earlier in the day, Mr. Naidu, in response to questions on who would be the party’s face for the Lok Sabha polls, shot back, “You all know it and every one is taking the same name.”

Good.

BTW, where were Yashwanth Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha on the day of Bihar bandh?

[ashashi]

BJP’s focus back on Modi as RSS tells Advani to keep mum

Resisting pressure from parties opposed to it, allies and even from veteran leader L.K. Advani, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to “move on” and project Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its face for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In an hour-long meeting with Advani, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat is learnt to have conveyed that it was time for “generational shift” in the BJP. The RSS chief, who had discussions with other leaders in the BJP, has also approved the BJP’s new campaign strategy based on the “development plank” in Gujarat, the records of other BJP-ruled States and the erstwhile National Democratic Alliance regime.

“People want a decisive, dynamic and development oriented leader and party. That is why they are looking towards the BJP and talking about Narendra Modi,” former BJP President and a known admirer of Modi, Venkaiah Naidu told reporters here on Thursday. He said the BJP would like to go to the people on the agenda of development.

[Atri]

But wasn't V Naidu part of the nebulous D4?

[RoyG]

The party was wasting away under Advani. I am glad RSS told him to f*ck off (politely of course). RSS + Modi will steer the party in the right direction now. Neutralize the queen bee and her hive of drones must be done. Taliban will be at our doorstep soon and so will the Islamists in Bangladesh and the Maoists to the North and inside the country. Time is not on our side.

[harbans]

Ashok you are right in your assessment. PM ship is a big deal for the 'Low' purush. Krishnan is almost right. It's not so much as caste as it is feudal supremacy or class supremacy. Lot's of those type of sentiments get washed away with the tide of 'caste'. In India it is not so much caste as feudal and class supremacy at work. People don't understand what it means to want to be a monk at the age of 17. How deep a person must have been in internal turmoil and assessment at the same time. I wanted to be one at 21 and still dream of an idyllic ashram of kinds at times where i could get away and spend time. That desire was not a fad. When out of it, one exhorts common sense development..and an underlying theme of preserving and enhancing upon the Dharmic heritage without recourse to fanaticism. Advani and ilk belong to the latter category. NM is less communal than most of the BJP practioners by the very fact that he was ready to be a monk at 17, yet such a person can be ruthless if lesser folks disturb the equilibrium of dharma. Understanding Rama and Krishna's life and forage against Adharma can be seen correctly in that light IMHO. NM will uphold Dharma much more vigorously than the 'Hinduism' banner. Back of the mind many realize it..and irespective of religious affiliation or adherence to Hindutva, people will be attracted to him across the nation, South to North and East to West. With NM as the head..i think BJP may manage 350 plus. This is a very deep change we are witnessing and NM himself may not be aware how he may be that catalyst..but he will be able to do that job. That once again reminds me of Lord Krishna's messages in the BG..that one is just a catalyst..what happens is his wish and that upholdment of Dharma is the most sacrosanct in the scheme of things.

[krisna]

But wasn't V Naidu part of the nebulous D4?

must be the least toxic of all D4.

[ramana]

The party was wasting away under Advani. I am glad RSS told him to f*ck off (politely of course). RSS + Modi will steer the party in the right direction now. Neutralize the queen bee and her hive of drones must be done. Taliban will be at our doorstep soon and so will the Islamists in Bangladesh and the Maoists to the North and inside the country. Time is not on our side.

That should not be a goal. It should be the consequence of the overall clean-up needed.
And that includes all the termites inside BJP starting from the top.

[Hari Seldon]

For some light-hearted banter....

Ajay Maken tweets #FailureModi, Twitter trends #SaluteModi!

Heartwarming series of tweets showcased at the end of the article. Ensoi!

[SaiK]

I think ORKIN treatment is needed for not just inside BJP alone, but aam junta as well. This is the reason, I think no political org in desh, can have a strict CnC model implemented. It just can't be a seniority model based on age alone. In fact, politics is the only field where age is severely discounted and delinked from considerations.

If people, by culture change, automatically will remove the aged by vote pattern. People can raise up from corruption, then we have better orkin controls. The larger section, should be less corrupted for higher democracy, and secured setup. When we are considering ourselves as de-facto P6 nation, then it is important to consider how we graduate our fundamentals as well.

Leadership requires awareness, and ensure the mass is rightly guided to do their tasks right. I don't think, we can measure everyone to have the same leadership values blindly, by how one would vote(by current practices). It has to be measured by performance or a policy driven democracy.

[SwamyG]

When it was pointed out that Advani should not have compared Modi and Chauhan, there was much of rona-dona questioning and supporting Advani. It was pointed out how media and INC will twist or use such remarks....here is a proof

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/manoh ... s/1131715/

Congress spokesperson P C Chacko said the Congress has no reason to question Parikkar's conclusion. "He has said that there was administrative failure. We agree. The remarks are a severe blow to Modi's claims about good governance and decision making," he said.

Chacko pointed out that Parikkar's remarks and Advani's earlier assertion that Modi had inherited an "economically healthy state" should be read together.

"If you read these two statements together, it exposes all of Modi's claims about good governance, economic development and decision making," he said, adding that the Gujarat chief minister's "so-called" performance claims are increasingly coming under question from within the BJP itself. "More than the Congress, the BJP is questioning his claims," he said.

I have not read/hear Parikkar's comments. But all Jai ho to Advani. Self-goal anybody?

[Sushupti]

Sangh lends ear but little else to Advani

New Delhi, June 20: L.K. Advani met RSS chief Mohanrao Bhagwat at the Sangh’s office here for an hour this morning.

Sangh spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya issued a statement after the meeting, which said: “In a detailed and candid interaction, Shri Advaniji conveyed his views on various developments in the country and the role of the party (the BJP) and the broad nationalist movement led by the Sangh.

“It was opined that several issues need further discussion and exchange of notes at various levels. (The) same will take place at appropriate time. Shri Bhagwatji also suggested that such useful exchange of views should continue in future also.”

The message was that the RSS was always willing to hear out Advani and that today’s interaction was a step towards repairing what he might have seen as a “communication breach” between him and the Sangh. However, it was underlined, that did not mean his views would prevail.

Sources said Bhagwat had told Advani his opinions on issues raised in his June 10 letter to BJP president Rajnath Singh, resigning from party committees, would be “listened to”.

Prime among these were the BJP’s “current functioning and direction”, the “decline” of “idealism” and the “concern” of leaders with “personal agendas”.

But Bhagwat suggested that Advani should not make his complaints public or take “extreme” steps like resigning from posts because this dented the image and damaged the “health” of the BJP.

The RSS chief told Advani the BJP, like the Sangh, believed in “collective decision-making” and, therefore, nothing would be done unilaterally.

Advani’s aides did not speak on the meeting, nor did the BJP.

Asked about the interaction, former party chief M. Venkaiah Naidu said he had “also met the sarsanghachalakji to discuss matters of mutual and national interest”.

But Naidu’s subsequent comments suggested Narendra Modi’s projection as the BJP’s top leader figured prominently on the party’s radar. Asked if Modi would eventually be unwrapped as the party’s prime ministerial candidate now that the Janata Dal (United) was out of the way, Naidu said: “The nation will come to know who our candidate is. You people already know who he is.”

Until recently, Naidu was counted among Advani’s staunchest loyalists.


Aware that Modi would find it hard to rid himself of the 2002 riot taint, the BJP is crafting a strategy that would neither be an outright apology nor an unabashed defence.

Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar bounced off the line recently when he described the riots as an “administrative failure” but added that Modi was “just” four months into his job as chief minister. “The administration collapsed. Everyone got polarised, including the administration. You don’t have to blame only the leader.”

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130621/j ... 032021.jsp

[SwamyG]

Modi is best leader: Justice Krishna Iyer

http://www.niticentral.com/2013/06/20/m ... 92906.html

Thats some endorsement. So looks like a convergence is happening to change the ruling setup.

I saw that news item this morning. What is profound is not Iyer talking about it, but a tamil magazine carrying a picture of Modi, talking about youth, role ityadi. It brings Modi that much closer to the readers and possibly the TN people in terms of his accomplishments and qualities. This one article/interview is not going to reshape anything, but it is one dosage of medicine. Need a few more.

JJ is making sympathetic gestures towards CPI. She wants to keep her options open. There was no need for her to withdraw an AIADMK candidate and give it to D.Raja of CPI. But she did exactly that. She will never change....the ever unpredictable and eccentric opportunistic politician. Hopefully at the end she supports Modi. I would not hold my breath though.

[Sushupti]

ON THE ROAD TO DELHI
- Modi will be a central concern of the 2014 polls
Swapan Dasgupt

The BJP evolved from a very different political tradition — one where there was always a final authority. But the BJP too has grown exponentially in the past two decades. There is a crucial difference between today’s BJP and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh which operated as an extension counter of a Nagpur-based parent organization. It would be fair to say that Nagpur still retains its status as a majority shareholder but since the party exists both as a ‘sangathan’ and an election machine, it cannot afford to be unmindful of what potential BJP voters think and feel.

In the case of Modi, there was, at least until 2010-11, a very delicate relationship between him and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Although he was a rare case of a full-time pracharak who was parachuted into the chief minister’s chair, the Gujarat chief minister was always seen in Nagpur as too individualistic, too argumentative and too much his own man. In normal circumstances, this would have resulted in the creation of a glass ceiling but, as recent events suggest, the RSS has been unwavering in its support for him. Two factors explain the shift. First, Modi has mellowed and is no longer as prickly when confronted with gratuitous advice on statecraft. Secondly, Modi’s enhanced level of comfort has everything to do with an awareness that he enjoys mass support.

It is unthinkable to compare Modi with Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Temperamentally, they are different souls. Vajpayee revelled in Brahmanical ambiguity; Modi, on the other hand, is less inclined to moral relativism. But in their dealings with the RSS both have showed a similarity of approach: both have not hesitated to say ‘No’ when the situation so demanded. That is because both had the reassurance of popular backing. More important, both knew when to not carry a disagreement to extremes and when to retreat. At the end of the day, both had a fierce sense of corporate loyalty.

The comparisons don’t end here. Both Vajpayee and Modi evolved as they gained political experience. Vajpayee became leader of the Jana Sangh and the BJP at a time when Hindu nationalism was still a fringe phenomenon. Vajpayee realized, particularly after the Janata Party experience of 1977-79, that the BJP would have to make anti-Congressism its main plank and reach out to other parties on that basis. After the 13-day government of 1996, he shrewdly calculated (as did Advani) that to cross the last few hurdles, the party had to be a voice of reassurance to Indians troubled by the two disastrous United Front governments. This necessitated blunting the sharp edges of the BJP’s distinctive features: abolition of Article 370, enactment of a uniform civil code and the immediate construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Significantly, there was one feature of the BJP’s distinctiveness that Vajpayee didn’t abandon: making India a nuclear-weapons State.

Modi’s experience has been different. He was thrown into the deep end of politics by the vicious communal riots of 2002 where his administrative inexperience showed. He could have travelled down the road of communal polarization but, instead, he transformed it into an issue of Gujarati pride. Following his victory in 2002, he further modified regional ‘asmita’ and made it coterminous with rapid economic development. Today, that logic is being sought to be extended to the whole of India.

Vajpayee, it is rightly said, had a soft touch; Modi, on the other hand, can often be very cutting, even abrasive. Both approaches have a merit but their political impact can only be judged within a context. Vajpayee was the quintessential consensus man who pushed through an economic agenda without too much fanfare. The India Modi operates in is different and one where he detects two clear signs of anger. First, an anger with the Congress for a wasted decade; and, second, the anger of a very youthful population who resent the mismatch between aspiration and opportunities.

The India of 1998 was a troubled India and Vajpayee sought to reassure it by being the voice of wisdom and comfort. The India of 2013 is an India that resonates with anger. There is a constituency that is clamouring for a no-nonsense approach to politics and demanding an end to the ‘old politics’. As of now, Modi hasn’t set out the contours of his ‘new’ politics but the events of the past fortnight have clearly positioned him as the man who makes the fuddy-duddies squirm in fear.

The next general election will not be a single-issue one: no Indian election ever is. However, thanks to his opponents, Modi has become one of the central concerns of the day in a way that Indira Gandhi was in 1971, 1977 and 1980. Modi may or may not become India’s next prime minister but he has ensured that his opponents can only prevail through a variant of the Duckworth-Lewis rules.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130621/j ... 024352.jsp

[ramana]

I think the old politics was what buried the Emergency excesses and did not weed out the bad elements inside the government officialdom. It also continued with "forgive and forget and wait for your turn" of loot.
Its old politics that proples LKA to keep throwing spanners hoping he can derail the Modi path. He doesn't get that he is derailing his own party first.


Even after being allowed to withdraw his resingations he is still fighting behind his minions.

One more repeat and he has exhausted his goodwill.

[Sushupti]

I think the old politics was what buried the Emergency excesses and did not weed out the bad elements inside the government officialdom. It also continued with "forgive and forget and wait for your turn" of loot.
Its old politics that proples LKA to keep throwing spanners hoping he can derail the Modi path. He doesn't get that he is derailing his own party first.


Even after being allowed to withdraw his resingations he is still fighting behind his minions.

One more repeat and he has exhausted his goodwill.

Ramanaji, do you think he really cares for BJP any more?. He stopped doing that the moment he declared Jinnah secular. As someone pointed out, his state of mind is best reflected by the fact that latest blog from him has no mention of Uttarakhand calamity.

[Sushupti]

Whoa!! this is new. So, Niku snapped ties with BJP on the advice from Mr Amrtya Rothschild.

And he is supposed to have followed the advice of a certain Nobel laureate in doing what he did. That tells about the laureate, and it reveals a whole lot about Nitish Kumar.

http://www.newsinsight.net/Mediapoliticians.aspx

from the above link :

Or take Advani. It used to be said about him long ago that he would follow the last advice give on a day. Did he think for himself? Did he have a vision for the country? There are no signs of them in his speeches and writings. His writing is thin and without substance, exactly as a journalist writes. And perhaps he is the first national-level politician who has -- or had -- journalists as advisors. What can journalists’ advice? What can they think? If you take a survey of Delhi’s top journalists, a large number of them are intimates of Advani and his family. He uses them now to pull down Modi. But the real question is, have they been able to remake Advani’s fate? Or colour his destiny brilliantly? No.

[muraliravi]

Just from a knowledge perspective,

I just did an analysis on Congress performance in 2010 Assembly election in bihar. eci site has an excel sheet with results where they also lump assembly segments into parliamentary segments.

Congres has a total vote share of 8.7% and is quite evenly spread across the state barring a few spots like bhagalpur, purnea, kishanganj and some other spots where muslim population is quite high (in those areas they have 15-22% vote, not sure why those areas are voting cong). But even without those areas, they have about 7% vote quite evenly distributed across the state.

In the 2009 lok sabha polls too, congress got 10.3% vote in bihar. Lensonnews poll says congress will get 16% vote even if all parties fight alone (aaj tak says 14%). I mean we guys should think again before saying congress is zero in bihar. They dont have enuf votes in a region to win seats, but have a nice evenly distributed vote all across. In fact, after this split, by vote share, going by the 2-3 surveys and previous election results, after BJP and RJD, they have the 3rd largest vote share in the state more than LJP and JDU.

Can anyone shed some light on where this is coming from? Is there any caste group in bihar that votes that consistently for congress. Will this group desert congress if they ally with lalu? Is that the reason why they are being ambivalent between lalu and nitish and taking their time to finalize a partner?

[KJo]

I was just wondering... will Bharat Rakshak officially endorse a candidate?

[SaiK]

what does officially endorse mean?

[KJo]

what does officially endorse mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_endorsement

[disha]

I was just wondering... will Bharat Rakshak officially endorse a candidate?

BR is apolitical. And has been dubbed as an Hindutva forum.

[Singha]

Yes unless we fly the black flags of khurasan here , we shall not be declared secular.

[abhishek_sharma]

Because Modi can change the subject

[niran]

BTW, where were Yashwanth Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha on the day of Bihar bandh?

YSinha was in Dilli, SSinha was in Mumbai oogling PYTs at his daughter's photoshoot.

[Hari Seldon]

Blast from the Past... Swami A Aiyar in TOI in *Dec 2002* on why he thinks Modi is apossible future PM of India.... ensoi.

Narendra Modi, future PM