Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi fight gets real

With the BJP’s original rath yatri L K Advani virtually consigned to history by his party,Modi vs Rahul contest is real now. Modi as the BJP’s campaign committee head and Rahul Gandhi as the Congress’s election coordination committee head have emerged as the two chief protagonists of 2014 elections and Congressmen are divided in their cost-and-benefit analysis.

Modi starts with an edge. Not because BJP cadres are rooting for him — Rahul’s lineage makes it irrelevant in his party — but because of what they mean to voters. Rahul is,of course,the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family; “a revolutionary of sort who wants to change the system while enjoying all its fruits; a seeker of truth who is on a ‘discover India’ mission; and a politician failed by wily colleagues in his endeavour to end the role of money,patronage and lineage in politics”. If this gives a confusing image to voters,they are further confounded when Rahul wants them to make intelligent guesses about where he stands on everything that matters to them — be it the issue of examination in CBSE schools or the dastardly rape of a student in a moving bus in Delhi or Naxalism.

In contrast,people know what Modi stands for,in politics or on issues concerning economy or law and order. When he refuses to apologise for post-Godhra riots and baulks from donning a skullcap offered by a Muslim cleric,people know why. He may be unconvincing and repetitive in trying to extrapolate his Gujarat model of development at the national level,but people are keen to listen. No guessing why Congressmen dismiss any Modi vs Rahul debate but can they avoid it any longer?

D K is a Senior Editor based in Delhi

dk.singh@expressindia.com