The Man Who Sold Narendra Modi To India Has Given Up On Him, Claims Government Misusing India’s Wealth

Rajesh Jain, the architect of the Narendra Modi wave in the Lok Sabha elections, is going through a severe case of buyer’s (and seller’s?) remorse. He has now started ‘Nayi Disha’ (new direction), “a political platform to make India prosperous” by “winning a majority of the 543 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, form the next government, and implement an agenda to put Indians on an irreversible path of prosperity”.

Jain has resigned as part-time member of the UIDAI, a post he was awarded by the Modi government in 2016, and as an independent director of the NTPC to invest all his energies on Nayi Disha.

For all the answers that Nayi Disha tries to address explaining the purpose of its existence, the ones concerning the seeming disillusionment with the Modi government are, perhaps, the most enlightening.

Sample this question listed on the website: “Your solutions and promises seem like another jumla – this time not from Modi but from Nayi Disha. Why should I believe you?”

And the answer: “It is not a jumla. Nayi Disha is promising to return the wealth that rightfully belongs to Indians, that is currently unused, misused or abused by the government. Rajesh Jain is a successful businessman who is investing his resources and time for a prosperous India. Nayi Disha team has done extensive research on the issue and has a detailed plan with respect to monetising public wealth and returning it, we are not making empty promises in the air.”

In a clear signal that the Modi government did not perform as well as Jain would have liked, the website talks about how “the political parties and leaders in power have little or no incentive to change India’s direction and thus have largely kept India on the same path of poverty and exploitation, like the colonial rulers”.

In perhaps a pointer to the Modi-Shah combine’s almost frenetic effort to gain office, even in states where it may not have got the mandate–as it happened in Goa and, to an extent, even in Bihar—the Nayi Disha website says: “Driven mainly by an intent to stay in power, they have kept Indians dependent on government hand-outs and quotas in exchange for votes.”

The damning indictment doesn’t end here. He accuses the Narendra Modi government of keeping India poor:

“Didn’t Rajesh Jain make Modi win the 2014 elections? Why is he doing this? He is a businessman; how do I know it is not just a platform to help his business?