And even before becoming Prime Minister, he has given “Chunav Ghotala” (Election Scam) to the people. His campaign seems to have spent much bigger amounts than the 10000 crores that Congress is claiming. Chunav Ghotala and Zameen Ghotala (Adani Land Scam) and “Nano Ghotala” are already there for the catch, but Congress leaders are not catching fast.

by Dr Javed Jamil

If media are to be believed, Modi has already won the Prime Ministerial race. Even if this dream might not ultimately come true, the perception is growing among the analysts that Congress has given this election on platter to Modi. This was the election Congress should have never lost. It had considerable achievements to its credit. Apart from the various rights that it gave for the empowerment of the people, it has done pretty well on the economic front and has kept communal atmosphere in the country under control. The corruption charges against it are old, and they surfaced only because the UPA passed RTI. Instead of taking claim for unearthing the corruption of some its own ministers, the UPA allowed the Opposition to keep this issue alive till the elections. The inflation issue too could have been easily tackled. This was not an issue that could have landed the UPA in trouble. If it loses the elections, it is only because the UPA cabinet acted as bureaucrats or technocrats; they failed to act as politicians. Politics is about creating an atmosphere of goodwill for itself among the people, and to thwart the opposition propaganda. The UPA failed on both fronts. Congress realized it too late that it was facing a severe challenge of credibility, and the response even then was inadequate.

The biggest mistake in my view was the failure of Congress in projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate. It seems to have fallen in the trap of the opposition and the media, which spread the propaganda that Rahul would be no match for Modi. They knew that if anyone in Congress could pose a challenge to Modi it was only Rahul, and therefore they took an early lead in attacking him to the hilt. BJP fought its battle so shrewdly that even achievements of Rahul were made to look failures, and even the failures of UPA were made to appear as Rahul’s failures. When he took that extraordinary step on Ordinance, BJP was quick to turn this achievement into “insult of Prime Minster”. His initiative on Lok  Pal and his political activism attracted the derision, “Where was he till now?” To be fair, Congress President and members too showed lack of confidence in Rahul Gandhi.

When the decision was taken not to declare him as Prime Ministerial candidate, technical grounds were sought to explain the decision. The argument that the Constitution gave the winning candidates the right to choose Prime Minister was weak because the winning candidates do not land from the heavens; they are given tickets by the party on the basis of their agreeing to the party line and the party has the right to tell them who they are supposed to choose as their leader once they come to the Parliament. Not to declare was a purely political decision (based on wrong assumptions) and the technicality was chosen only as an argument of defence. By not declaring him as Prime Ministerial candidate, Congress gave a handle to BJP, which quickly and vehemently projected this decision as Congress’s lack of confidence in Rahul.  The whole campaign made it look as if nothing else counts in the elections except the name of Modi. Instead of becoming a Modi-Rahul fight, it turned, “For Modi or against Modi”.

The media has fallen to its knees before NaMo. He is projected as a great orator and great planner. The truth is that he is none. His Gujarat Model has already been punctured. The tragedy is that it was punctured too late in the campaign, and when it was punctured, BJP was allowed to quickly replace it with the Communal Card. The admiration Modi receives for his oratory baffles me. There cannot be a bigger lie than that he is a good orator. There is absolutely no oratory in his speeches; at the most it can be labeled as buffoonery. He speaks like a comedian with the sole aim of making fun of his political opponents. Comedians have always been popular with the crowds, and there is hardly any surprise if people come to his rallies as they provide some entertainment. But the truth remains that there is hardly any substance in his speeches. In comparison, Rahul qualifies as a much better speaker who counts not only the achievements of the past but also talks in considerable details about the future. “Right to Health” and “Right to Shelter” are no ordinary programmes. These must have been a big hit with the nation. The talk of bringing 70 crore people from just above poverty to the middle class must have won the hearts of the majority of the people. But even Rahul’s serious talks about the rights UPA has given and the rights it proposes to give are not taken seriously by the media. They also love buffoonery more than sincerity.

Thanks to huge money, the BJP campaign has turned the table on Congress. At least this is what appears on the first look. Modi can still fail to become PM, but he will certainly win double the number of seats he deserves to win on the basis of his abilities and past record. And even before becoming Prime Minister, he has given “Chunav Ghotala” (Election Scam) to the people. His campaign seems to have spent much bigger amounts than the 10000 crores that Congress isclaiming. Chunav Ghotala and Zameen Ghotala (Adani Land Scam) and “Nano Ghotala” are already there for the catch, but Congress leaders are not catching fast.

* Dr Javed Jamil is a thinker and writer with over a dozen books including his latest, “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Road-map”. Other works include “The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism”, “The Essence of the Divine Verses”, “The Killer Sex”, “Islam means Peace” and “Rediscovering the Universe”. He can be contacted at doctorforu123@yahoo.com or 91-8130340339. https://twitter.com/javedjamil