Modi - the saviour

Hindutva has always been Modi’s strength. Modi’s repeat winning performance in Gujarat was clear enough proof that his anti-Muslim image had made a permanent place in the heart of Gujaratis. He was given the title of Hindu Hriday Samrat by his party men. Gujaratis loved him because he was the one who had taught a lesson to Muslims in the state. To them, he was the saviour of Gujarat and Hindus, for without him, Gujarat had lost its glory and Hindus were in danger.

The strategy to present Modi as India’s only option was quite uncomplicated. It involved showing Congress, the only other party having the calibre to run the nation, in a bad light. BJP started digging up old scams during previous Congress governments. Automatically, Congress-led United Progressive Alliance seemed more corrupt and feeble. Lack of a strong prime ministerial face from the Congress camp didn’t help the grand party either. And since the BJP and RSS’s ideology of building of a Hindu Rashtra was the antithesis of Congress’s ideology of strengthening democracy and secularism, BJP’s media team didn’t leave any stone unturned in its efforts to erase and malign the legacy of Congress and its leaders.

In his maiden speech in Parliament, Modi chose not to mention Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Even now, his references to the great freedom fighters and builders of our nation are bereft of any mention of the man who is considered to be the architect of the modern Indian nation.

Modi’s image carried the taint of 2002 riots in Gujarat. Very deftly, Modi toned down his Hindutva rhetoric and diverted the nation’s attention to his over-blown development record in Gujarat.

Step 2

The second part of the strategy involved in developing brand Modi was to showcase Gujarat as a model state, which Modi would replicate on the national stage. The Modi era in Gujarat was turned into a narrative.

The Vibrant Gujarat campaign was launched to showcase the developments in Gujarat under Modi. ‘Happy’ images of Gujarat and its people flooded the social media. The ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ website claims of getting 800 billion dollars’ worth MoUs since 2003. The claim, however, stands preposterously overblown against the Reserve Bank’s figure of 7 billion dollars for the same period.

In February 2013, Modi addressed a huge gathering of students at New Delhi’s Sri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). He was seeking to connect with the youth considering that the general elections had almost 150 million first-time voters. He threw in words like roads, electricity, women's safety, peace, industry, education and governance. He spoke of slowing economic growth, high inflation and lack of new jobs – issues which resonated with young and urban voters. To the assembled students, he offered another candy. He said, “This nation is being ruined by vote bank politics. This nation requires development politics. If we switch to politics of development, we will soon be in a position to bring about lasting change and progress". Ironically, vote bank politics under Modi raj has assumed new dimensions. But as with fake photographs, a fabricated speech is what Modi presented.

Spinning another lie, Modi said, “Gujarat used to be a water-deficient state. But its agricultural growth has been more than 10 per cent in the last decade. Water level is decreasing all over India but in Gujarat, it is increasing”. At that time, according to a United Nations (UN) report, Gujarat was one of the most water-starved states in India. A 2012 report of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) said more than half of the bore-wells in Gujarat had recorded a considerable dip in the water level.

Keeping the nation caught in his fancy words, Modi hurriedly built a fake Gujarat model.

Fraudulence then, fraudulence now

There have been innumerable and often embarrassing instances of BJP’s own members spreading false propaganda and circulating photoshopped images of Modi. Not long ago, BJP minister Babul Supriyo tweeted a picture which he claimed was that of Rajkot Bus Stand whereas in reality was just a digital impression. In another incident, thousands of messages were circulated around declaring that Narendra Modi was chosen as the best PM in the world by UNESCO.

Barring a few instances, promoting fake messages by BJP members just shows how desperate the party supremo and its members are to contrive naraatives and hide real facts. What is more shocking and pitiful is how BJP/Modi’s official social media cells are spreading bogus and fraudulent information. BJP’s official Twitter handle tweeted pictures from other countries, showing them as Modi’s achievements. An image of a motorway in Poland was shown as an example of Modi’s magical reforms around the country.