Unconventional world leaders

PM Narendra Modi is in United States of America on invitation from President Donald Trump. It is the first personal & physical interaction between these two unconventional global leaders. Both are unconventional leaders & have made unique impact on global platform. While President Trump is only around 6 months in office, PM Modi has been at it since 3 years.

PM Modi is a tea seller boy, who rose from the rock bottom to earn respect within the party and from millions of Indians to get elected as the Prime Minister of India. President Donald Trump is a multi- billionaire business man, who had nothing to do with politics and had never been an active politician, but has risen with massive popular support to be elected as President of USA. Both have almost achieved the impossible, with distinctly different backgrounds, which in the natural course wouldn’t have got them here. They are certainly very unconventional leaders.

While the two are very unique people with variant backgrounds, and from extremely dissimilar socio economic strata and, of course, from two different continents, they do have amazing similarities. These strong similarities can actually drive a strong rapport and trust between the two and can certainly ensure an unusual bonhomie between the two leaders, going ahead.

As I analyse, PM Modi and President Trump have very similar leadership styles. Their world view, decision-making approach, political interests, governance focus, global priorities and judgement on issues are extremely similar. Even their approach towards media, judiciary, legislature, executive and in that order is quite unique and unconventionally similar.

Though President Trumps exposure to politics is very limited, he understands the strengths and weaknesses of the political system quite well and it’s praiseworthy for a green horn to assimilate the monster system. He not only survived the system, but has successfully brought it under a tight leash in an unprecedented timeline. President Trump is an extremely efficient, open minded, agile, ever learning and a progressive leader. It’s not easy to pin him down with mere conventional political tactics. Surprisingly, he mastered the game of politics at the same time he entered it.

PM Modi was a political novice not very long ago. He was a RSS pracharak and had nothing to do with politics almost until 1990. He neither has political lineage nor a political god father. He is purely an ideology guided leader throughout. His rise to the current position was neither planned nor plotted, certainly not until 2012. He rose from the ranks purely with his active learning, diligence, focus & result orientation. His personal leadership style is what brought him to where he is today.

PM Modi understands the thorny game of politics certainly little more than President Trump does. He ensured his rise to PM position is methodical. He also has a tight leash on a historically slippery political summit position, which he is currently assuming. He has complete and unprecedented control on the government, the party and the entire national political ecosystem. Not an easy feat for a leader, who leads a nation which has 7 national parties and over 70 regional parties. PM Modi is a political leader par excellence, in the timeline of Indian political history.

PM Modi and President Trump are self-made and have no past baggage. Both have huge mandate of the people and high expectations. They have been sincerely delivering on their promises to their nationals and in the due process have been facing consistent opposition from mainstream media and opposition parties. Not just their friends, both these tall leaders seem to have same enemies too.

USA and India relations especially since the disintegration of USSR have been on a constant rise. PM Modi has dealt with a Democratic government through President Obama and now he has to deal with a Republican government under President Donald Trump. I don’t see PM Modi will have too much of an issue at it.

Pakistan will find itself totally alienated with the new pact expected in this trip. This rogue state will be thoroughly exposed of its disloyalty to even its ally USA. It is expected that USA will unleash unprecedented sanctions on Pakistan and cut all aid going forward, as a result of PM Modi and President Trump’s new action plan to attack terror in all forms, especially the states which manufacture, train and export terror globally.

In fact with these historic similarities, both leaders can work and bond together to direct their focus at dealing with common global enemies and detractors. The leaders of the oldest and the largest democracies have many common problems and challenges. Their paths & goals are similar. However, their approach towards resolutions might be different.

I foresee India’s claim for UNSC permanent membership might just get realised in President Trump’s tenure, so will the upgraded representation in trade and investment forums like World Bank, IMF, APEC and admission into multilateral export control regimes like NSG, MTCR, Wassenaar Arrangement, Australia Group might get done with the mutual cooperation between these two unconventional global leaders.

USA has a true friend in India. There are too many similarities between these two nations to delay or avoid a closer operational pact. I foresee both the leaders understand the real time value each nation can add to the other and firm up together their collective plans for the world. It is in the larger interest of the world that they should work together. The first summit between PM Modi & President Donald Trump will be historic, path breaking & beat all expectations. (Writer is a BJP Spokesperson)

By Krishna Saagar Rao