Thread: Gujarat Polls 2007 - Narendra Modi wins

CNN-IBN is projecting the BJP to return to power in Gujarat.

While we await the detailed results from the Election Commission, Offstumped focuses on the the big picture of this BJP victory in Gujarat by Narendra Modi.

If the prognosis by the media and every commentator across the spectrum was that this election was about Modi versus Modi then the results must be interpreted as a strong referendum on the need for a Strong Executive. In fact the only politician in recent memory who came anywhere close to what Mr. Modi did in Gujarat was Mr. Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh.

So where did Modi go right that Naidu went wrong ?

The big difference between Modi and Naidu is that Modi made believers of his electorate in his reform agenda that even his worst detractors admit delivered on its promise while Naidu had few believers outside of Cyberabad. In this sense Mr. Modi has more in common with a Tony Blair and a Nicolas Sarkozy both of who defied conventional wisdom on populism and entitlements to make a majority of the voters believers of their agenda. A feat no Indian Politician has been able to accomplish to date, not even Manmohan Singh who merely pushed policy while failing to build a succesful political platform.

This win is also a strong vote of no-confidence in the mainstream media which has been pushing an anti-Modi agenda as highlighted by Offstumped on multiple occassions. This is a warning signal to the Barkha Dutts, Rajdeep Sardesais, Vir Sanghvis in the media that if they dont bring a sense of balance to their reportage and opinion making the risk losing consumers and sponsors. They cannot expect the people and corporations to subsidize their discredited agendas any longer.

Some in the media from Shekhar Gupta in the Indian Express to Bhupendra Chaubey in CNN-IBN are attempting a new spin of absolute “secular consolidation” as a fallout of the Modi victory.

This is absolute bunkum and is a lame attempt by the media to be in the game by raising the bogey of secularism. The Congress will be in serious denial if it gets carried away by this spin while looking to find a silver lining for its heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi as dark clouds hover over the Sonia Gandhi presidency.

A hard look at the political reality state by state exposes this spin for what it really is.

A Modi victory will not cause Jayalalitha to back the Congress, will not stop the LDF from fighting the UDF in Kerala, will still make Gowda a political untouchable in Karnataka, will do little to stop the Naidu YSR abuse-fest, will not paper over Chaggan Bhujbal’s enstrangement with Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra, will not cause Naveen Patnaik to embrace the Congress in Orissa, will not make Nitish Kumar best friends with Lalu Yadav, will do little to suppress the ambitions of Mayawati in the heartland or make Mamata forget Nandigram in West Bengal, will not stop the AGP from fighting the Congress in Assam and Om Prakash Chautala from fighting the Congress in Haryana.

So what “secular consolidation” are these idiots fanatasizing over, perhaps one that unites the psuedo-intellectuals across the media to fight for survival as the inevtiable prospect of being rendered irrelevant stares them in the face.

The Modi win in Gujarat sets the stage for an interesting 2008 as Offstumped had predicted earlier in the year that the unraveling of the UPA Left axis of evil will likely beging with a BJP win in Gujarat.

Offstumped Bottomline: The Narendra Modi victory in Gujarat marks the first succesful battle in the War on Social Justice. Mr. Modi stands out as the first politician in recent memory who defied conventional wisdom on anti-incumbency. He did not pander to special interests, he did not yield to populist temptations. He dared the all pervasive Culture of Entitlment by coming out strongly in favor of the spirit of Enterprise.

His victory amongst other things reflects the deep and fervent desire in a cross-section of the society for a Strong Executive that no longer has the patience for executive paralysis, fragmented legislatures.

This victory is also a vote of non confidence on the leftist agenda pursued by the psuedo-intellectual liberals in the mainstream media.

While this is moment of vindication and celebration for Mr. Modi it is also an opportunity to mend fences and heal wounds from the riots of 2002. Offstumped while congratulating Mr. Modi also calls on him to deliver Justice for all from a position of strength.

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