Philadelphia, PA –Ā The exercise on search for a new skipper to lead India for next five years, is history as the Election Commissioner declared results of the Indian General Elections. Sure, there is no surprise, as Narendra Modi gets another term.
Campaign season for India in 2019 was quite ugly in plain manner and entirely lopsided in quantified manner. It was ugly as all opposition parties decided to fight winning in fragmented manner rather than a united front. They all were eager to earn the winner seat by hurling insults and innuendoes to ruling coalition – National Democratic Alliance (NDA). They never focused on issues which mattered to average citizens and all opposition parties never created confidence that they can tackle issues better than ruling NDA coalition. So all of them just kept hammering all non-issues in campaign to divert people’s attention and it affected negatively to lose the race ultimately.
The worst performance was noticed from Congress Party by average voters for multiple reasons as mentioned here. This election was already lost for Congress Party from the start of campaign when Gandhi familyās heir Rahul Gandhi was selected as a President of Congress Party without election while Rahul Gandhi always projected himself as an immature and inexperienced teen tapped in a fifty year middle aged man. He was surrounded by mostly self-centered and corrupt āyesā men who could have never guided him to become a true leader. His family history with corrupt practices never enhanced his image as a viable candidate for Prime Ministership position.
When New York Times reporter Gardiner Harris on NDTV in India, portrayed Rahul Gandhi as Congress leader in no certain terms – āCongress party is going to die, if they continue to promote Rahul Gandhi, he is not a politician or a good leader.ā
Even some quarters from Congress party always showed dismay, but he instilled himself as scion of Gandhi family and a protector of the Party. He kept stumbling and fumbling on campaign trail.
Congress Party and few other left leaning parties forged a united front ahead of election but fell apart as soon as it was formed, simply because all party leaders were in the race for Prime Ministerās chair and astonishingly none was interested in reaching majority in Lok Sabha to win invitation to form a Government. They called this union āMahagathbandhanā which just remained only on paper and never realized its strength in election.
During election. none of the opposition members campaigned on any burning issue of the day in voterās mind, they all targeted Prime Minister Modi to abuse him with personal attacks throughout the season, berated him on his all political actions, never ever complimented on his good works across whole nation. It was a polarization point as it never materialized into an honest dialogue to act in unified manner for a diverse country like India!
Multiple factors have contributed to NDAās rise and severe defeat of Congress. When NDA won in 2014, it might have been a mandate given to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to navigate India in new direction away from past of corruption, stagnation and even regression. Modi took on herculean task with a heavy hand and determination. It gave a new sense of hope that goals are still attainable. Now voters in year 2019 saw an urgency that they give Modi another five years, so they can forget unpleasant past under Congress rule!
Secondly, Rahul Gandhi was a sole factor for Congress defeat in 2019. He was novice in comparison to Narendra Modi and could not put his image as clean, decent and hard working on issue-oriented campaign. He picked up issues which he did not master, like Rafale deal for fighter planes and kept fighting with lies and innuendos even after Supreme Court of India gave the ruling government a clean chit.
When NDA government gave full detail for deal in Parliament and France agreed that there was no middle man to pay, he took government to court. When court cleared the deal, then he used a slogan to slender Modi Government, calling āGuardian is thiefā where guardian means ruling government.
Finally Court ordered Rahul Gandhi to cease and desist using that slogan again, in his written apology, after he Ā used repeatedly stating that court also approved it.Ā Unfortunately he used too many lies to further his cause on winning. Gradually people got the wind that his campaign was simply a hot air balloon.
Media and government sometimes go hand in hand to deliver truthful information in public domain where Media helps to sort out government to let public know by allowing government to preserve confidentiality in area of defense matter. In India, media allowed Rahul Gandhi to propagate lies on Rafale deal matter where government was not allowed to close discussion in order to preserve confidentiality. Instead Media tried to drag NDA government to answering with an intention to discredit it.
For long time, it was an open observation in public domain that some quarters of elite journalists worked under agenda of former UPA government and Gandhi family to protect their interests all time including keeping lid on rampant corruption since late PM Rajiv Gandhiās time. It also included to keep all irregularities of former UPA under rug with silence, while always clamoring creatively on meaningless exercises to put doubt in public mind. There was one unwritten code that never highlight or discuss any good policy of NDA government!
This elite media was labeled as āLutyensā and they played a major role in blocking truth, in many cases, to reach public about NDA and their leaders including PM Modi. It worked well in demonizing, then Chief Minister (CM) Modi in Gujarat riots of 2002. UPA Ā government and Lutyens media was again at hard work to control the real information so they can make a scapegoat out of CM Modi.
Now, very recently, truth has emerged slowly. Even reporter like Tahir Aslam Gora of asserted in his TV show that Narendra Modi was not involved in riots anyway, in fact he was the first state CM who requested armyās help in two days to New Delhi and Ā UPA government delayed in honoring the request. It was added on his show that None of Modiās actions were never controversial enough for so long that they have to go back eighteen years to find fault with him at all!
Even during campaign trail, these elites forget that one does not have to praise a popular leader like PM Modi, however they donāt need to make up a story that audience dismiss it with a strong protest. This is story of reporter Rajdeep Sardesai who got his medicine for asking wrong question. In Banaras, he asked audience that why is so much marketing done on what Modi did for Banaras? One college teacher asked pointedly that why did he ask what Modi did for Banaras where he did ample of things for the city? Why donāt he ask what prior Congress (UPA) government really did in almost six decades? It would be more relevant than his First question.
This is how elite media handled people of India for more than four decades like a cattle class. Now it is a turn of same people to make Lutyens non-relevant and show Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party a spot where they have reached, called nadir!. Modiās return would not be so robust, had it not be undoing of Rahul Gandhi Ā and Congress party venturing campaign in no manās land. The defeat would bring complete dislocation, if not demolition to Congress party and it would not be easy to see those glory days to rule India so long.
Kirit Desai
Kirit DesaiĀ had post graduate degrees from India & USA both - in multiple disciplines. After spending almost 30 years in R & D (as Research Scientist) and research management at a prestigeous Ivy League University, moved into Financial field for past decade & enjoys reading/writing in international business, politics, sports and science/technology. He lives in Delaware valley near Philadelphia.