Professor Suhas Palshikar, one of the leading political scientists in the country, recently wrote about “nine failures and blemishes” of the current government at the Centre and said that these do not seem to have brought any discredit to the government because the government is “Modi-proofed” and that there seems to be a general belief that “Modi can do no wrong”. He felt this was a bit mysterious and suggested that, “It is something for social psychologists and theorists of democracy to ponder over.” Having a little more than nodding acquaintance with the former and not being totally ignorant of the latter, here goes.
Just like our president, Palshikar is a wise person. While delivering the valedictory address at the Constitution Day organised by the Supreme Court of India on November 26, 2022, President Droupadi Murmu said inter alia, “I have left some things unsaid, which you (the judiciary and the government) should think about and understand.” Somewhat similarly, Palshikar, while partly assessing the performance of the current government at the Centre by listing out the nine “failures and blemishes”, referred to the “political culture that we are adopting as a nation”. He stopped short of explaining what constituted this “political culture”.
There are three elements of this political culture that possibly explain “the phenomenon of ‘Modi can do no wrong’”.
The first is communal polarisation or the “othering” phenomenon. Communal polarisation is most prominently between Hindus and Muslims but Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists are not far behind. It is amazing that a majority of 80% has been convinced that they are in danger from the remaining 20% but that is what has been achieved. The phenomenon of “othering” is so widespread that it is impossible to ignore it. Everyone has heard statements such as “Do not allow ‘them’ to enter your colonies to sell vegetables;” “Do not buy any fruits, hardware, etc. from ‘their’ shops;” and of course, “Do not give your flats or houses to ‘them’ on rent.” These are all expressions of “othering”. The sad but true fact is that while a lot of citizens may seem not to agree with these sentiments in open discussions, when it comes to pressing the button on the EVM, a very significant majority seems to start believing that their religious beliefs and ‘way of life’ are indeed “in danger”. This is what possibly gets the BJP a reasonably secure share of around 30% of the votes and contributes to the ‘Modi can do no wrong’ phenomenon.
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The second element is immaturity of all opposition political formations. It does not seem accurate to refer to them as political parties because they do not in the least appear to have been even touched by something remotely called ideology. They appear to have only two guiding principles: self-interest and opportunism. Self-interest is an expanding circle starting with oneself, one’s immediate family, progeny, extended family, caste, community, their own cabal within the party, and if any resources are left after all this, the party. The concept of welfare of the people or the nation does not seem to exist in their mindscapes. Some of these factors are often disguised in the form of ‘ego’ which manifests itself in questions such as who will call whom or who will wait to be called, who will go and meet whom or who will wait for someone to come and see him/her. Another dimension of “self” is the so-called leadership of the party which is often one individual or at the most a coterie. Opportunism’s most frequent manifestation is sole focus on the short-term. An election cycle is as long as opportunism allows them to see. This immaturity leaves the field open for the ‘Modi can do no wrong’ phenomenon to thrive, ably supported by the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor.
The third element is the Election Commission of India (ECI). It is a constitutional body which is supposed to be autonomous and independent of the government of the day. Its constitutional mandate requires it to be a neutral umpire in conducting the elections to the parliament and state assemblies, in addition to those of the president and the vice president. Increasing concerns have been expressed from several quarters about its functioning, particularly during and since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Instances are far too many to recapitulate here but lack of consistency in the application of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and giving special, lax treatment to the ruling party; selective use of its powers, lack of transparency in providing reasons for some of its questionable actions whether in the announcement of dates for state assembly elections, number of phases in conducting elections; suspected irregularities in the use of VVPATs and EVMs; and lack of response to complaints of violation of the MCC are some examples. This element is not discussed very often but this appears to be a factor that contributes significantly to the ‘Modi can do no wrong’ phenomenon.
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It is hoped that knowledge of these three factors might provide at least a part of the reason for the “misfortune that ‘civilisational’ claims are accompanied by disrespect to popular suffering, nationalist claims are coupled with hiding state failures in protecting the nation-state and origins of democracy (being the Mother of democracy) are associated with vile language from grass roots to the apex” that Palshikar so evocatively ends his piece with.
Jagdeep S. Chhokar is a concerned citizen.