AA EDIT | Modi Exhorts Ministers as NDA Gets Poll Ready

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s exhortation to the members of his council of ministers to go back to people with the report of the development projects his government has initiated in the last nine years and his talk about the road to 2047 virtually marks the start of the National Democratic Alliance’s campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but it remains to be seen if the ruling front will stick to the agenda that he has suggested.

Mr Modi came to power on the back of a strong anti-corruption campaign with the demand for a powerful Lokpal at the centre. It had its resonance across the nation and the wave it created helped the NDA coast to a historic electoral victory. Mr Modi’s image as a man of development in Gujarat also contributed heavily to the cause. It is a fact that Mr Modi won an emphatic second term without depending much on the development plank nor on corruption; a dash of nationalism was more than enough to convince people about the presence of a strong man at the wheel.

Development and a positive political agenda can prove dicey in an electoral battle and the BJP’s own experience in 2004 proves it. While the NDA under Atal Behari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani talked about a shining India, the people looked about themselves but found none and chose the UPA instead. Reasonable governance earned the UPA a second term, but insensitive rulers riddled by corruption charges offered more reason than that was required for the electorate to sample options.

While projects such as Swachh Bharat and Ujjwala addressed some of the basic felt needs of the lowest rungs in Indian society, decisions such as demonetisation and the implementation of the GST regime in the first term reflected the inability of the Modi team to see the impact arbitrary policymaking can have on a diverse country such as India. Mr Modi was smart enough not to play those up in the 2019 election, but set the agenda differently and romped home.

While Mr Modi would want his ministers to think ahead and discuss with people the road to 2047, he would personally initiate a discussion on a uniform civil code knowing full well that it is not the best subject to take up in an election year. A uniform civil code will need a template of mutual understanding, respect and a desire for reform among the stakeholders, including political parties, so that a consensus can be reached keeping all legitimate interests on board. It remains to be seen how Mr Modi identifies and reconciles the contradictions in the said interests.

Mr Modi has shared his dream of a developed India when it celebrates 100 years of its independence, but the government he heads has not yet revealed the roadmap to reach there. The Prime Minister strongly believes that technology will be a great enabler and bring big fortunes to the lives of ordinary Indians, but little work has been done to bridge the digital divide. It is time the Prime Minister and his party crystallise their plan for the future so that stakeholders can meaningfully engage in the discourse.