Brij Bhardwaj
A vast and diverse country like India has multiple problems and governing it is not easy. Very few of those who have had a chance to govern it have left a mark to remember them with afterwards. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be one of them. His greatest contribution has been evolving a system in which the benefits proposed for people reach them instead of them being pocketed by the officials or politicians.
For instance, the assistance proposed for farmers reaches their bank accounts with a regularity unknown in the past. This has been made possible because of bank accounts being opened and the Aadhar card scheme. This is also the case with respect to assistance with building toilets and houses as well as other schemes, such as those involving gas cylinders .
This has built a link between Prime Minister Modi and the common people which will go a long way in prompting large numbers of them to vote in the Lok Sabha elections taking place soon. The battle cry will be “Modi hai toh Mumkin hai”. This will be one election in which the popularity of a leader is far above the political party that he is heading. There have been very few instances when this has happened.
The popularity of Mahatma Gandhi who led the freedom movement ranked far above that of the Congress party. He did not hold any office but could command elected leaders to follow him. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawahar Lal Nehru, as well as Indira Gandhi after she won the war in 1971 and created the new nation Bangladesh, also enjoyed similar popularity. Many others made contributions, but no one else falls in the same category.
One remembers how Dr Manmohan Singh and P.V. Narasimha Rao changed the country from a deficit economy to a surplus one. People today believe when Mr Modi talks of making the Indian economy among the top economies of the world. The BJP is fighting this election in the name of Mr Modi and not the other way round. The aim is that India will soon become a developed country instead of a developing one. There is talk of building modern tools of development and starting manufacturing instead of processing only.
The Indian stock market is booming, exports are rising, and we have a large young population, as well as a comparatively stable government to move ahead at great speed. This is an advantage in a world where there are many conflicts. With few years of peace, India can gain speed and establish itself as a progressive nation. What we need today is proper infrastructure, which can be built in the next few years. The coming years will give us an opportunity if we avoid internal conflicts and work as a team.
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