The win was never in doubt, only the final tally. Narendra Modi will rule Gujarat for yet another five-year term unless, of course, he decides to move to national politics. For some reason not very clear, the media and the political pundits had set 117 seats as the cut-off for him to move to Delhi.
Perhaps, more than this number what will matter is what the BJP’s Delhi Durbar and the RSS think. For both it is a piquant situation. They are no doubt proud of Modi’s decisive win but may also be in a quandary on whether or not to allow him a national play. The grassroots BJP workers, however, are sure to demand that Modi come on to the centrestage, and indeed be projected the party’s Prime Ministerial candidate in the absence of any one else of stature, with L.K. Advani taking the back seat. One key question will be if Modi will be acceptable to the BJP’s allies.
The most interesting part of the results was the interpretations the Congress, and a section of the media, gave the Modi win. Finance Minister P. Chidambaram even claimed a Congress win. How? Modi has won only 115 seats though he had said it would be 120-plus. By seemingly denying Modi five seats, the Congress had “won”. A very creative defence of Rahul Gandhi, whose campaigning has had little impact. And, what if Modi does end up winning 120 seats? With Modi set to win in 18 of the 24 riot-hit areas, the secular plank also appears to have sprung a leak.
Between the hearty laugh that he must be having, Modi must rethink his image outside of Gujarat, if indeed he wants to make a national play. For, as an able administrator no one disputes his credentials considering the manner he has developed the State. And, in the final analysis, the bottomline—read, quality of life—is what people will vote for.