Modi-Shah juggernaut on a roll

In one of the finest speeches delivered in the world so far, Sir Winston Churchill, the then British Prime Minister, said: “Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end.

We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

The new President of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, has a lot of reading to do. But he should listen to the aforementioned speech delivered by Churchill to his countrymen while facing an existential threat from the Nazi forces. The latest Assembly results prove beyond doubt that the BJP juggernaut is unstoppable and the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo believes in some serious business.

Here is a pair that meticulously works its way up with its sights firmly set on the winning post without any compromise or compunction. It believes in its leadership strengths and, yet, does not let any opportunity slip away. Politics of development, politics of passion, politics of division, politics of religion, politics of region and post-truth politics...nothing is amiss in their deceptive strategy.

Rahul Gandhi and all the opponents of the BJP should realise that they are facing not only the duo in the BJP but also the RSS, which is the ruling party's mainstay and which keeps working silently behind the scenes. Their commitment in challenging the hurdles and their resoluteness and combative spirit should also not be underestimated. Elections is also about booth management. Reports indicate that the Congress failed miserably on this count.

So where should Rahul Gandhi begin his innings now? No doubt, his party fared well in Gujarat, The aim, however, should not always be only making gains, but also be winning. Unless a leader makes it a habit to win, he or she would not be in a position to convince all the other opponents to unite in the fight against formidable challengers. Gujarat offered, on a platter, a golden chance to Rahul Gandhi and he could have opted to sweat it out carefully, instead of falling back on unknown friends, the three musketeers.

If the aim was to encash the dissent of the Patidar segment slighted by the BJP, to build upon the anger of the farming community over the neglect of the agri sector and to tap the disillusionment of the unemployed or the GST affected and the demonetised traders and businessman, there was no need for Rahul to dump his own party leaders to embrace a Hardik Patel, a Jignesh Mewani and an Alpesh Thakor. Those segments would anyway have worked in his favour.

Ill-advised by his trusted lieutenants, Rahul Gandhi preferred to ride the divisive forces to the benefit of the BJP. The three leaders that Rahul Gandhi trusted represent three different societal segments, and hence, promising Patidars' a quota would have ruffled a few feathers at least amongst others. Common sense should have taught him not to fall prey to the machinations of Hardik Patel. Several voices from Gujarat have been skeptical about this young man and doubted his intentions.

Hardik just used Rahul to propel himself into the limelight and make money. It is as simple as that. Well, Rahul did not believe in himself, nor did he believe in his party men in granting seats to the non-Congressmen thus creating dissent in his own backyard.

Secondly, he ought not to have banked upon the advice of some seniors in the party that it was a good idea to irritate Narendra Modi. This tactic works only if the opponent is temperamental. Modi is superior in strength but never temperamental. His as well as that of Amit Shah are cold calculations.

Rahul not only let Mani Shankar Aiyar rave and rant at Modi using 'Chaiwallah' and 'Neech' remarks, but also went ahead, initially to defend the same. On top of this, hosting dinner to Pakistani friends amid an electoral war in Gujarat above all places was a bid idea. That was enough ammunition for the duo to take on the Congress in the hard-fought battle.

Third, and furthermore, there was no calling at all for Rahul to toe the soft-Hindutwa line rediscovering his 'Janyudhaari Brahmin Shivbhakt" roots. This is his weakest area. After all, the BJP is the only original 'dvija', the twice-born. It was none of Rahul's business to smear his forehead with vermilion and make a detour so that the visits are played up for the optics.

Rahul should have stuck to his secularism platform firmly instead. He would have retained credibility and would not have lost a few votes in Gujarat. In addition. he would have won more friends from across the political spectrum of the country in future.

The fourth and the foremost of the reasons is also this: to win, one has to be one's own enemy. Here is Rahul who hails from such a sanitised background that no failure would touch him nor teach him anything. He is always right for the party and his party leaders keep heaping praise on him and latch on to every word of his as if it is the gospel. To err is human, Rahul himself said during the campaign (tweet of his) and so why does not nobody tell him that he could be wrong.

Even the finest sword plunged into salt water will eventually rust, as Sun Tzu says. GST and demonetisation were two alloys that made up a fine sword of criticism against the BJP in Rahul's campaign, but there was no alternative to it. Rahul neither could convince the electorate that demonetisation was not an anti-corruption measure nor could he promise the voters a roll-back of the GST.

These were beyond the realm of Rahul as well the State governments. Moreover, it was a common knowledge that the Congress has always supported the legislations. When a leader does not have options, why would the 'janta' follow him?

The BJP had a strategy for everything, from Patidars to GST to demonetisation to the charge that development had gone crazy in Gujarat. It convinced Patidars in the urban centres about the futility of the Congress promise on quota and its illegality. It rolled back the GST slabs and reduced the same on more than a 100 items promising more reforms.

The Congress did not have anything else to say other than accusing. It did not even have figures to churn out to people to back up its charge of imbalance in development. It just banked upon the Hardik-Jignesh-Alpesh combination and the anti-incumbency. Modi-Shah duo had a strategy without tactics as a route to victory and the Congress had tactics without strategy, a sure sign of defeat.

Agreed that the Gujarat battle pushed Modi to the wall, but he seized it to fight it out like a Chief Minister. Rahul had the opportunity, but he preferred to play an outsider. Again recalling Sun Tzu here: "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained, you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." Boys would be boys!

By W Chandrakanth