Modi hasn’t had a ‘coalition government’ in past 23 years, but this will not stop him from working like he has 400 MPs: Dr Chandra

Reflecting on the 2024 general election results and the surprising tally of the BJP, Dr Jagdeesh Chandra stresses that the result must have been a surprise for Narendra Modi but he will come out strong and work to ensure such a time never comes again. Dr. Chandra also talks about how Modi, although lonely at the top, still manages to take a strong step forward, how he can change his focus to non-performing states after swearing-in and cabinet formation and take some major decisions regarding changes to government and organisation in these states, how Modi is not limited by numbers and how people have this unfounded belief that BJP is trying to speed up the swearing-in when actually it is not as there is no threat to Modi’s contention to being PM. Excerpts....

• What do you reckon is meant by Modi’s new avatar in a coalition government? Also, according to you, what kind of challenges can the new government and Prime Minister Modi will face?
  Dr Jagdeesh Chandra: I will first answer about the challenges. As far as challenges are concerned, there are no challenges in Narendra Modi’s life. He is a national hero and has the trust and faith of 140 crore Indians He is a global leader. The word challenge does not exist in his dictionary and hence it is said that throwing a challenge to challenges is Modi’s guarantee. But what could perhaps be termed, for lack of any other suitable word, a challenge, is the coalition government which is a mental challenge, its is ideological and quite frankly a state of mind. In the past 23 years, he has not run a coalition government. Yes there was a coalition in the form on NDA alliance but it was only ceremonial but now it is an effective coalition which has been formed for the first time. Hence, he will have to make his mind in an effective manner to run the coalition government and his biographer has written recently that Modi is not made for coalition and suddenly he has been given a role which he has not played till now. He has always been at the centre-stage and always held command single-handedly and focused on results. He said that his teachers have revealed that when there used to be a play in the school, Modi used to be the single person performing in the play on the stage. So the point here is that he will have to prepare himself mentally. On the other hand, this is all part of the game, part of life. He himself has said that victory and loss is part of political life. But still we hope that Modi will remain powerful and effective to the same extent as he would have been with 400 MPs to his side.

• You said it is all part of the game. But don’t you think Modi might have felt a little disappointed with the final tally of BJP and may be feeling the pinch, perhaps due to the final numbers?
  See, ultimately he is a human being. He is powerful, he is popular, he is a national hero. But everything said and done, at the end of the day he is a human being. I think the night of June 4 must have been challenging for him mentally and perhaps he might not have mentally reconciled with the reality and kept questioning to himself as to what has happened and how did party win on 240 seats. Perhaps he may have felt that he has been betrayed, cheated by his own people. When we loose, such thoughts come to mind and the responsibility of such losses also lie with people who are close to the leader. Now imagine that the BJP lost Ayodhya too, which is unbelievable. Smriti Irani lost the fight which too is unbelievable. So in totality, the point is that as a human being he must have been disturbed emotionally and must have introspected and his introspection will go on for several days. In the recently held NDA meeting, he appeared to be so quiet and one could see, if observed closely, some tension on his face. Perhaps he could not reconcile as to what has happened. However, when the North did not go according to plan, Modi got seats for the party from South. I believe that for the next few days he will mull on this result while seated alone. As such it is said that the most powerful leaders are always loners. He is also a lonely man at the moment. So we pray to the almighty that once he is through with contemplation and introspection, he takes the nation forward, once again, as he would have with 400 MPs by his side.

• How do you reckon Narendra Modi absorbed the BJP being limited to just 240 seats? Also, can Modi make major changes in the non-performing states?
  Definitely Modi must be angered and disappointed with his team. I believe that once the swearing-in happens and the cabinet is formed, he will shift his focus on this aspect. Responsibilities will be ascertained and action will be taken on it, changes will happen and even Chief Minister and state party chiefs can be changed. Furthermore, there may be massive changes in the way the Modi government is formed and functions. Modi must be a curious and slightly disappointed man due to the result and thus he will take action to correct the wrongs so tat it does not happen in the future. Although the general elections will be held after five years, but now three states will go to polls in the near future and then one by one other states will follow suit and as such Modi is a person who wants to keep himself ahead of his political opponents in every sphere. I believe that definitely he will take some major steps in the party and the government in the days to come.

• We read in Indian Express that Modi is beyond numbers. What does it mean?
  This means that there are no limits to Modi and he achieves what ever goals he sets his eyes to, albeit there may be some ups and downs. It means that he accepts every challenge what ever the situation and turns it into his success and therefore the report said that one should not deduce with the result that Modi’s popularity has decreased. Furthermore, the report meant that Modi’s capabilities are beyond limits and hence the Indian Express carried that he is beyond numbers. Today the numbers may have fallen but this is not the last election for BJP, neither is it the last election of Narendra Modi. Hence one should not think that he has been confided to 240.

• Some critiques have said that extra centralisation of power and person-centric politics may have resulted in a dismal result for the BJP. What is your take on this?
  It is said that the entire focus was on Narendra Modi. Even if we accept this surmise, then tell me, what is the other option? Tell me one leader in the party who you can term to be a crowd puller and get a crowd of five or ten thousand individuals, apart from Amit Shah. Party’s victory has to be ascertained and they have to carry the party’s candidates too! Try to understand Narendra Modi’s pain through this explanation: they have to form government and make 400 or 300 or 250 candidates win then what else would you do? So every place you will have to go from morning to evening and work for over twenty hours in a day without getting tired, then obviously it will become person-centric, what other option do they have then? Who likes to work for twenty four hours, and he too needs some relief being a human. Few days back he held an interview wherein he asked the interviewers to think for him too. So, even though its a person-centric approach, but there is no other option to this and hence one person will move the party forward whether it is 240 or 340, irrespective of numbers.

• What are your remarks on the speed with which Narendra Modi was appointed as leader of NDA?
  It is clear that it is due to his governance, efficiency and result oriented approach and for this PMO should be lauded. I have said in the past too that Modi’s PMO is one of the most effective PMO in the world. Some people are casting an apprehension that they are speeding up everything fearing perhaps something may happen, but tell me what will happen? Nothing will happen. Who will come and tell Narendra Modi to stop for two days? Can someone do that? The point is that the work that previous governments have done at their own leisure pace, that is happening in a systematic manner under Narendra Modi. There are party organisation involved in it. Few days back, a consultation occurred between BL Santosh, JP Nadda and Amit Shah on this. So the point is what is your speed in life? Do you want to stay dull and dumb or do you want to run like Narendra Modi? Due to this some people cast apprehensions but let me tell you, even if you do not hold the oath ceremony for an year, no one is going to stand up before Narendra Modi. So this is reality is efficiency and governance.

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