Finally India’s one of the largest mainstream political
parties BJP declared Mr. Narendra Modi their Prime Ministerial candidate for
2014 national elections. I certainly welcome this move not because I am a big fan
of Mr. Modi, but because this a rationale approach in current social and economic
situation. As per my last blog, I believe that this move will further help not
only BJP but also the voters. Several people, specifically Mr. Modi’s staunch
followers, are finding it a fantastic idea but at the same time many political
pundits and leaders are calling it a bad move and wrong tradition. The debate
is on with people pouring their thoughts from various angles. Lets go through
the arguments and analyze these by a different lens
- Indian politics is about party and policies, not personalities – This is the most perplex statement that has become the core of all arguments. Leaders and analysts using this argument always forget that policies and parties were created and influenced by leaders. The basic ideology of any party and policy originates from core leadership and later the same policies are carried by their followers. I am not a student of politics but by definition - Politics (from Greek politikos, meaning "of, for, or relating to citizens") is the practice and theory of influencing other people on a civic or individual level. Clearly, leaders/personalities do play a big role in influencing the policies and thought processes. If Indian politics is not influenced by personalities, then why did we see so many changes in social and economical factors even when the same political party was in power? For example, Mrs. Indira Gandhi followed socialist approach in her economy policies where as her party man Mr. N. S. Rao, who was the Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996, led the reforms opened up the Indian economy. Clearly, personal vision and thought process influence parties and the whole nation.
- India should not follow western political structure of presidential nominees – This is another weak argument that is living in Indian political corridors and media. Nominating a Prime Ministerial Candidate for a political party is not westernization but evolution of politics. Presidential elections in USA are democratic and in a way more democratic than Indian political environment as all the parties go through primaries to elect their Presidential candidates. Although Mr. Modi’s nomination did not go through a highly democratic process but at least this is the basic foundation that can help in building the overall process. I also like the idea of AAP party where they select their candidate through a transparent process. True believers in democracy would always welcome this idea rather than few political leaders selecting the Prime Minister behind the walls.
- Nominating a person as Prime Minister Candidate shows that person’s political ambition – Politics and ambition are inseparable. Nobody enters politics without an ambition although that ambition could be big or small. Nominating a person Prime Ministerial Candidate shows clarity of thoughts and not just ambition. And if someone is competent, effective communicator, visionary and believes in inclusiveness, then there is no harm in putting her/him in the driver’s seat. Most of the Indian political parties know in advance who would be the Chief Minister/Prime Minister if they come to the power but hesitate to be transparent with common Indians.
- A man’s vision cannot be a country’s vision – It is true that every Indian has a different vision of India in his/her mind. Although India is highly diversified and we take pride in our diversity, we also have a tendency to ignore few arguments because of it. If we have 1.2 billion versions of India, we need a leader who can put all those versions together and come up with an integrated and better version that is meaningful. Otherwise we will keep talking as argumentative Indians and nothing will get done. From democracy point of view, it is better that someone communicates that version of India to all Indians so that it becomes a single dream across the nation. And achieving one single dream for 1.2 billion Indian will be much easier than achieving 1.2 billion different dreams.
