When it comes to Mr Modi, we are all in the dark

This morning, Vinod Mehta, veteran journalist and founding editor of Outlook, passed away in New Delhi. In April 2014, Mehta wrote a post for Vantage in which he outlined his pre-election predictions for Narendra Modi as prime minister. In the context of the central government's current set of challenges, his prescient analysis from last year is as relevant today as it was at that time.

Every general election has a standard hype. They are described as “defining,” “epoch-making,” “make-or-break,” “deciding the destiny of the nation.” This election is no exception. Citizens are being told that what is at stake is the “idea of India”—which is apparently being challenged for the first time since the republic was created. Modi supporters insist that there is more than one idea of India, but fail to spell others out.

Is this true? Yes and no. The imminent arrival of Narendra Modi at 7, Race Course Road, will herald a new era in our democracy. He will arrive with so much excess baggage, both positive and negative, that we are unsure what this country will be like when he becomes prime minister. (Unless Narendrabhai comes under a bus between now and 16 May, he seems unstoppable. Therefore, I am not going to waste your and my time speculating on all the permutations and the combinations that could deprive him of the throne.) However, not even the most astute Modi-watcher can predict what lies ahead when the new PM takes office. In a sense, we are all in the dark.

I believe he may not behave as his critics, which include me, expect him to. We see enough posters and promotional material of Modi and Vajpayee together plastered around the country to suggest Atalji will be his role model. It is irrelevant for us to speculate whether he truly subscribes to Vajpayee’s centrist-moderate ideology or is wearing the Vajpayee mantle under compulsion. As long as he is wearing it, I am prepared to keep my passport under lock and key.

Modi may not have studied at Harvard, but—to continue from a Times of India column I had written earlier—there is a good chance he understands that India is not Gujarat, Delhi is not Gandhinagar. In the interest of keeping his new job for five years, he may realise the need to change his style and curb his Hindutva impulses.

There is some sign that this realisation has registered with the Gujarat chief minister. During his nationwide election campaign he has mostly stuck to the development theme, even in places like Ayodhya and Varanasi.

But with Modi there is always a “but.” Towards the end of March, with his “AK-49” speech, in which he charged Arvind Kejriwal and AK Antony of being “Pakistani agents,” we saw the return of the vintage Modi. It was a frightening reminder, bringing back forgotten memories. It suggested that when Modi is under pressure, his first instinct is to revive the self he is desperately trying to suppress.

Interestingly, it is not the Congress party that has rattled him; it is Arvind Kejriwal. The Gujarat “model,” while receiving some scrutiny, has passed the test of public credibility largely because the scrutiny was more rhetorical than factual. But after his visit to Gujarat, Kejriwal produced a set of figures, on its 24x7 water supply, on farmer suicides, on the rate of agricultural growth, on the abysmal state of government hospitals, sharply at variance with those Modi peddled to boast about his achievements. Taunting Modi further, Kejriwal challenged him to a public debate on the figures he had gathered. It was this relentless questioning that unnerved Modi and led to the outburst concerning Pakistani agents. What the whole sorry episode underlined is that till date Mr Modi has neither submitted himself to open questioning in a press conference nor given a credible one-on-one interview.

For the last few weeks, I have been arguing, taking into account the widespread disgust against the Congress, that Mr Modi should be given the “chance” he repeatedly pleads for. While remaining vigilant, critics of Narendra Modi should adopt the policy of wait and watch. Judge him not by his past but on the way he governs India. In other words, temporarily give him the benefit of the doubt.

Short of putting up the shutters or taking James Joyce’s advice to dissident patriots—“Silence, exile and cunning”—what option do we have? He is coming anyway. How do I know? I don’t. But garrulous windbags like me would be out of a job if we did not stick our neck out.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Caravan.