Could Modi 3.0 lead India to better times?

 Now that the din, noise and recriminations surrounding the 2024 Indian General Elections are over and Modi 3.0 is ready to roll out, may we get on with our lives and hope for better times ahead? Even the worst detractors of PM Modi cannot deny the fact that he has won what is a very creditable and almost unprecedented third term, falling short of a clear majority by 30 odd seats- a reasonably large shortfall, but not an alarming one (we have seen far worse in the past that proved to be remarkably stable).

While he may not have performed in accordance with the exceedingly high standards he set for himself, Modi has fared better than most political leaders around the world would have, when placed in a similar situation. It is, in fact, better that we have a much chastised (hopefully) Modi 3.0 shorn of hubris and arrogance which can get on with the unfinished business of making India the thirds largest economy in the world in the process ensuring that there is more broad based economic growth that benefits the masses, especially the young people.

A continuity of the governments policies would ensure that country maintains and indeed steps up the growth trajectory it is on. An economically stronger India would not only provide for its people, but would also help strengthen its geo-strategic position especially against arch-rival China, by shoring up and securing the nation's defenses against any external threats.

India is the fastest growing large economy in the world and is all poised to have its moment in the sun and become a breakout nation at last. The relatively strong and stable coalition government that will be sworn in on the 9th of June is well positioned to oversee that quantum leap in the nation's fortune. A strengthened opposition on its part can be the watchdog of the nation's democracy by ensuring that the government delivers what is expected of it by the people of India.

Does it matter who forms the government on June 4th?

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

Does it really matter to you and I, as to who forms the government on June 4th? Come to think of it, there won’t be any consequences in our daily life whatsoever whether an NDA or INDIA block alliance forms the government at the centre. Leave aside the fact that the policies of either government on most affairs are going to be identical once they assume power (which they will trenchantly oppose when out of power), the fact of the matter is that it is the career politicians who have much to gain or lose-a Lutyens bungalow, an MP’s salary and countless privileges, the enormous clout that comes from being a minister and so on.

Whatever progress that the nation will make in the years ahead will be despite the government and not because of it. The political parties these days are in 24x7 election mode and consumed by what should be done to win the next municipal, district, assembly, state and central election. All their grand strategies, tactics and initiatives are driven by that and nothing else.

Take the ongoing 2024 election campaign, for instance. It is all about abusing each other in the worst way possible and declaring one hare-brained populist scheme after the other- never mind who will bear the cost of their reckless benevolence.

Do the elections actually matter to most people, other than the entertainment they provide? The sight of seemingly sensible people lying and making amazing volte-faces might provide some comic relief to the suffering masses who know better than to expect that anything substantial will be done for them by the people they elect. They know that the former would soon get busy enjoying the spoils of their victory for as long as these last and show nothing but extreme contempt and hubris to anyone who dares remind them of their duties

Indian political leaders are like Bollywood actors and the IPL cricket league stars in that they are a massive source of entertainment and nothing else to the hoi polloi (while making very rich and powerful people of the former). Bollywood dishes out tripe that hardly qualifies as art, the IPL stars dazzle with all the drama of a soap opera, and the major political actors are theatre artists par excellence-the ones who provide no-holds-bard raucous entertainment that sometimes borders on the bawdy. Our democracy deserves better!