A country of a billion
plus people in every diverse way you can imagine of. A PM who rose to power in
an election that caught the attention of the globe. A shy and introvert former
Civil Servant who rose up to the need and became the CM of the country capital’s
state administrated region (NCT) with a majority that shocked the rivals and
critics alike. Both commoners themselves, worked their way to the top echelons
of power in New Delhi. Both visionary leaders, finding a common ground to rule
from – New Delhi. Two leaders and one city, what is the story?
A self-made man
who carved out a niche for himself battling the biggies of the caste-based
power politics in the state of Gujarat. A leader who rose through the ranks in
a cadre-style outfit, RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). Someone who spent
almost the entirety of his life in (and for) public, Narendra Damodardas Modi’s
life could find the pages of history books for future generations. Inspiring a
nation to vote for him in 2014 elections that led his party from the corners of
the opposition benches to occupying more than half of the floor. People of
India did not vote for BJP, but for Modi. BJP landed its first single party
majority status after the 1984 win of INC under Rajiv Gandhi following the
tragic death of Indira Gandhi. No party had got an absolute majority all by itself
in the last 30 years; yet BJP under Modi’s leadership chose to honor the political
coalition NDA (National Democratic Alliance). His stint as the Chief Minister
of Gujarat for three successive terms prior to the national fame was not short of
its share of ups and downs. Many criticized his style of leadership as
dictatorial and far right-wing and yet no one can deny the extent and reach of
his governance in Gujarat. He is the first PM India got who had an extensive
experience as CM (Charan Singh was CM of UP for a brief period, V P Singh was ‘appointed’
CM of UP by Indira Gandhi). A man full of ideas and the will and desire to make
them reality, Modi is the leader the country and especially its youth wanted.
An IRS office
by profession who shot to fame with anti-corruption crusades and fight that led
to the Right To Information Act (RTI). A scholar with IIT background and winner
of the prestigious Magsaysay Award. Arvind Kejriwal’s life is nothing short of
a stroke of genius, result of hard work and perseverance and an honest
compassionate human being who dreamt of making the changes he wanted to live
seeing. From leading the anti-corruption crusade with compatriots of the likes
of Anna Hazare, a visionary Gandhian himself, to gaining the trust of 4.7
million electorate making him the first underdog Chief Minister New Delhi
chose. He did not have neither the political experience of the political
stalwarts of INC and BJP nor the financial base these opponents had. But he presented
the people of New Delhi a change from the decades old monotonous politics which
has leaped from one scam to the other. People found a new hope and a genuine will
in him and his political outfit, AAP (Aam Aadmi Party, the party of the
Commoners). Even if AAP delivers half of what they intended to do, it will be a
major change in the geopolitical history of New Delhi which for centuries have
been the political war-zone of the mighty and powerful. It will be a first where
the voice of the commoners will be heard loud, their thirst for changes in
smaller things surrounding their daily life will be quenched.
PM Modi and CM
Kejriwal miss no chance to take jibe on each other and are known for their
political rivalry. Both has a different style of working but are highly
motivated men and want to bring in changes to the system they hated to see
growing up. They differ in their political ideology, but not in their intent.
While Modi’s NDA government is finding many roadblocks to implement many of the
flagship programs across the country (or even to get them moved in the both
houses of Parliament), Kejriwal’s Delhi government has no hustles to plan and
implement their programs for Delhi because of their absolute majority in the house
(67/70). Modi faces resistance from non-BJP ruled states (which is the major
chunk btw) and will probably miss a chance to use the overwhelming majority he
won in the race for the Parliament. Without State Government backing or willing
to implement the schemes, we will never know how far flung Modi’s governance
ideas were actually. Any program needs to be implemented on a sizable population for a measurable duration of time to be weighed for its advantages
or disadvantages. BJP rules many large states that may pose many challenges in
fully implementing any flagship government programs due to geographical and
demography complexity. What Modi lacks is an administrative region
cooperative enough that has the characteristics of a state but is not too large
that implementation itself becomes a major administrative task! So where do we
look? Delhi chalo???
The land of the
powerful, the Capital of Kings, Emperors and Imperials, the governing center of
India. A metropolitan city that not only is the administrative capital of India
but also the administrative capital of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of
Delhi. New Delhi is one of the 11 districts of the larger NCT that is a
quasi-state in itself and has its own Legislative Assembly and High Court. NCT an
electorate of 13 million and a total population of around 16 million packed in 1,484
square km (density 11,300/km2). It has a mix of both urban and rural
populace. Geographically small, demographically diverse and large, NCT represents
an ideal administrative place to try and evaluate any mass oriented program; if
only these two leaders keep aside their political / ideological / personal
differences. If they can forgo their egos and channelize their ideas and
willingness for change in a positive way, it will create a synergy that will
reap rich benefits. Political rivals have known to have kept aside their
differences to work for a common cause. Modi won’t find a better place to try
out his programs than in Delhi. Kejriwal will not find a better PM who matches his
craziness for development and changes. They both want the best for the people,
are known to be selfless individuals. It will be an unusual alliance of ideas
and out of box thinking. They can maintain their political rivalry but respect
each other and work for a common goal. But will they? In them and with their
governments, people of Delhi and India at large will miss a chance to see a
Synergy at work that could have done wonders. It is just 2016, Modi has 3 years
and Kejriwal 4 years of their respective tenures left to leave their mark. Who know
how many decades will pass before such a combination of a strong national
leader at center and a visionary leader in Delhi who doesn’t have the load of
his political backpack pulling him down will come?
Will they
continue behave like grownup children fighting for futile politics or rise up
to the occasion and make history? Time will have the answer, and we can only hope it will
be a good one our children will read in their history books.
Well written..old wine New Bottle
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