Like arch-villain Voldemort in the Harry Potter series,Narendra Modi was “he-who-must-not-be-named” at the Congress shivir in Jaipur.For, like Voldemort, the very mention of the man appears to send shivers down thecollective spine of the Congress brass (with a few notable exceptions).
Modi's name was not mentioned at all during the course ofdiscussions at the chintan shivir, Congress leaders were at pains to tell themedia. He did not come up even during the in camera discussions on “EmergingPolitical Challenges”. But the very silence brought Modi into sharper focus.
Privately, Congress leaders acknowledged that Modi wasperhaps the biggest “emerging political challenge” for the party. However,while some felt the BJP would never allow Modi to take the centre stage, otherssaid pitting him in a direct battle with Rahul Gandhi would work to theCongress advantage. Firstly, because the NDA might well split along “secular”lines and secondly, because Modi's appeal was limited to Gujarat and it washigh time that this was exposed.
It was left to the Congress master blaster Mani ShankarAiyer to articulate this viewpoint. After having famously referred to Modi as“lahu purush (blood man)” during the Gujarat election campaign, he toldreporters at the shivir that Modi would trigger the NDA's collapse. “I wantModi to become their leader because if a communal leader who is anti-poor isleader of the opposition, our victory is guaranteed”.
The other Congress leader to mention Modi was AICC generalsecretary Digivjay Singh, who - like Aiyer - enjoys a reputation for shootinghis mouth off first and answering questions later. Singh noted Modi's prowessas a communications tactician, pointing out that he ran a social mediamanagement centre at Ahmedabad. The Congress was trying to find ways ofcounteracting it, he added.
Delegates criticised the fact that the secular versuscommunal issue did not figure prominently either in the speeches of itsleaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, or during discussions.
Fear of “NaMo” was evident in the new-found focus on theurban middle-class, a hard core constituency of the Gujarat chief minister. Theeducated middle class' disenchantment with Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, whomthey had wholeheartedly endorsed in 2009, is evident in the public protestsagainst corruption and gender violence. Winning this demographic back,particularly the youth among the urban educated middle-class, has become apriority for the Congress.
But clear evidence of NaMo-phobia was Home Minister, SushilKumar Shinde's speech at the chintan shivir, launching an inane attack on theBJP and RSS for running “Hindu terror” camps. The allegation, coming as it didimmediately after Rahul Gandhi was formally anointed party number 2, wastotally out of context. One reporter, tongue-in-cheek, asked Shinde if he wouldban the RSS as a terrorist outfit. The home minister had no reply.
In association with Governance Now
