They call them the Bhakts, the ubiquitous Modi supporter who is willing (at-least theoretically) to punch his father in the face if the old man dare think about questioning 'Modi Ji'. & Bhakts have always clashed with the self-righteous liberal souls with pseudo (mostly) ism beliefs. The liberals identify themselves with many identities, you name it, you will find it - socialists, AAPtards, leftists, journalists, rationalists, leftists, Congressi, etc.
As we enter the election phase, the tiff has intensified to battlecries and bitterness. Leader & leaders are pitched for the post of PM-ship. But what is true is that this is a battle between Modi & the Opposition. Modi in today's India needs no introduction - hate him or love him. Modi is an independent discussion on to himself, he is not the subject of this piece. But he is setting the tone.
All the while for the last 5yrs the Modi narrative has dominated the Indian mindspace, mostly with positive stories around him. Open the newspaper & you see him smiling at you, go to the fuel station and he is still there looking at you, open the news and him again - an Indian, cannot miss seeing Modi in his daily life today. He has ensured it & all praises to his marketing dollars! But how about the competition - the opposition? Rahul Gandhi - the prince in waiting, the man with the right intent, what is he up to? Shaking one label after another - generally talking sense, mostly gesturing grand. But what about his party?
Cut to Modi again - the man has travelled far & wide, spoken loud & louder to maintain his shine but 5yrs, we have moved from iPhone 6 to iPhone XS - even your BFFs & other M.I.T.R.O.N change. Demomentization, GST, Kashmir, Rafale, loud mouths, fake promises, unemployment, cheap publicity and many many more sit around the throne, yet the king is apparently safe.
What has the opposition done - yes Congress won MP, Rajasthan & Chhattisgarh and managed to wrest power in Karnataka, but the journey has been one of struggles and fumbles for the grand old party. & the unlearning has not happened.
I do not know if Rahul Gandhi contemplates this question - why should I vote for Congress - one answer or multiple answers - WHY? For Congress, the search has not even started - their relevance is lost or eroding. Counter that ask the 'Bhkats' and answers will be precise - nationalism, growth, Ayodhya, Kashmir, corruption free, strong, Hindutva. As many segments as many answers. Even the worst of Demonitisation & GST justified on intent and Rafale could never become an opposition narrative.
Yet, the Congress questions Modi - perhaps that is the identity they are getting reduced to - not even sparing the single voice of unity required in a war-like (even if created) situation. Where is the Congress narrative? Post Pulwama & the air-strikes, the Congress invariably put a collective foot in its mouth yet again - in a narrative controlled by the government and partly supported by the armed actions, posing questions that trivialise the events is a self-destructive move. How many terrorists died? Yes, the international media will question it, so should the Indian media - but the main opposition party trying to gain petty political currencies in an election year comes across as - well anti-national! In a war-like scenario, who will people prefer to vote for - a loud mouth but action-oriented Modi or Modi-questioning Rahul Gandhi?
The Congress & most of the social media opposition have created large enough echo chambers for them to be awed by their voices but puny enough to make an impact beyond the closed walls. What is more shocking is the baffling behaviour of anti-right thinkers to get into most unusual arguments with intellectual embarrassments like Vivek Agnihotri. They seem to have still not understood the well-structured hierarchy that the BJP has & people like Agnihotri are merely quarter-brained troll commanders. Not one acknowledging them but engaging them is what the thinkers on the right want and they succeed.
There is a general belief in the Congress circle that they are winning the Social Media narrative. I do not know, but perhaps the echo noise has got to them. The BJP has ensured that whether you are with them or not or merely a fence-sitter, their message reaches you (& done it remarkably well). The Congress has ensured nothing but shifting benchmarks to match the BJP. They are trying to fight a propaganda machinery with no understanding of the power of communications - sad that perhaps the party that once was spearheaded by the greatest communicator of 20th century, the Mahatma is struggling today to keep pace with one man & his ruthless ambitions. Hitler made and impact, so did the Mahatma - The Congress needs to get back to that identity once again - set the new narrative for Gandhi's India in Modi's India.
As we enter the election phase, the tiff has intensified to battlecries and bitterness. Leader & leaders are pitched for the post of PM-ship. But what is true is that this is a battle between Modi & the Opposition. Modi in today's India needs no introduction - hate him or love him. Modi is an independent discussion on to himself, he is not the subject of this piece. But he is setting the tone.
All the while for the last 5yrs the Modi narrative has dominated the Indian mindspace, mostly with positive stories around him. Open the newspaper & you see him smiling at you, go to the fuel station and he is still there looking at you, open the news and him again - an Indian, cannot miss seeing Modi in his daily life today. He has ensured it & all praises to his marketing dollars! But how about the competition - the opposition? Rahul Gandhi - the prince in waiting, the man with the right intent, what is he up to? Shaking one label after another - generally talking sense, mostly gesturing grand. But what about his party?
Cut to Modi again - the man has travelled far & wide, spoken loud & louder to maintain his shine but 5yrs, we have moved from iPhone 6 to iPhone XS - even your BFFs & other M.I.T.R.O.N change. Demomentization, GST, Kashmir, Rafale, loud mouths, fake promises, unemployment, cheap publicity and many many more sit around the throne, yet the king is apparently safe.
What has the opposition done - yes Congress won MP, Rajasthan & Chhattisgarh and managed to wrest power in Karnataka, but the journey has been one of struggles and fumbles for the grand old party. & the unlearning has not happened.
I do not know if Rahul Gandhi contemplates this question - why should I vote for Congress - one answer or multiple answers - WHY? For Congress, the search has not even started - their relevance is lost or eroding. Counter that ask the 'Bhkats' and answers will be precise - nationalism, growth, Ayodhya, Kashmir, corruption free, strong, Hindutva. As many segments as many answers. Even the worst of Demonitisation & GST justified on intent and Rafale could never become an opposition narrative.
Yet, the Congress questions Modi - perhaps that is the identity they are getting reduced to - not even sparing the single voice of unity required in a war-like (even if created) situation. Where is the Congress narrative? Post Pulwama & the air-strikes, the Congress invariably put a collective foot in its mouth yet again - in a narrative controlled by the government and partly supported by the armed actions, posing questions that trivialise the events is a self-destructive move. How many terrorists died? Yes, the international media will question it, so should the Indian media - but the main opposition party trying to gain petty political currencies in an election year comes across as - well anti-national! In a war-like scenario, who will people prefer to vote for - a loud mouth but action-oriented Modi or Modi-questioning Rahul Gandhi?
The Congress & most of the social media opposition have created large enough echo chambers for them to be awed by their voices but puny enough to make an impact beyond the closed walls. What is more shocking is the baffling behaviour of anti-right thinkers to get into most unusual arguments with intellectual embarrassments like Vivek Agnihotri. They seem to have still not understood the well-structured hierarchy that the BJP has & people like Agnihotri are merely quarter-brained troll commanders. Not one acknowledging them but engaging them is what the thinkers on the right want and they succeed.
There is a general belief in the Congress circle that they are winning the Social Media narrative. I do not know, but perhaps the echo noise has got to them. The BJP has ensured that whether you are with them or not or merely a fence-sitter, their message reaches you (& done it remarkably well). The Congress has ensured nothing but shifting benchmarks to match the BJP. They are trying to fight a propaganda machinery with no understanding of the power of communications - sad that perhaps the party that once was spearheaded by the greatest communicator of 20th century, the Mahatma is struggling today to keep pace with one man & his ruthless ambitions. Hitler made and impact, so did the Mahatma - The Congress needs to get back to that identity once again - set the new narrative for Gandhi's India in Modi's India.
