Modi is a Golden Eagle. Kejriwal, a little Sparrow. Indian Press must stop unreasonable comparison and exhorting Modi.

WHO FEARS? AN EAGLE NEVER FEARS A SPARROW. 

Why Narendra Modi need not fear the rise of Arvind Kejriwal

Dhiraj Nayyar | Frist Post | New Delhi |  Dec 10, 2013 :: Should the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi fear Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi party in 2014? Should he recalibrate his General Election campaign in response to AAP’s spectacular debut in Delhi? The simple answers are no. 

For perennial Modi baiters, the Aam Aadmi’s performance is being interpreted as a snub to Modi’s Prime Ministerial aspirations. This is a false interpretation for several reasons. Sure, the BJP did not win a clear majority in Delhi despite Modi’s active campaign. But there is an alternative interpretation to Modi’s influence in Delhi. Could it be that it was the Gujarat Chief Minister who denied the AAP a fairytale ending on political debut? 

Remember that it was Modi who forced his party to drop Vijay Goel as the face of the Delhi campaign. If the tainted and unappealing Goel had led the BJP, AAP would almost certainly have won a majority; even Congress may have done better. Remember also that the voters of Delhi knew only too well that Modi was not a candidate for Chief Minister. The genial Harsh Vardhan --  Modi’s chosen alternative -- just didn’t have the charisma or appeal of Arvind Kejriwal. He also had very little time to establish his leadership. In the circumstances, Modi’s intervention in the leadership stakes and on the ground (he certainly fired up the rank and file), may have actually contributed greatly to the BJP emerging as the single largest party ahead of AAP.  It saved an otherwise moribund and infighting Delhi unit from political suicide. So while it is plausible to argue that Kejriwal halted Modi, it is equally plausible to argue that Modi halted Kejriwal and his own party from self-destructing.

It is also important to recognize that Modi has already positioned himself as the anti-establishment candidate of “change” (at the national level) for 2014. This is exactly how Kejriwal and AAP package themselves so successfully in Delhi. Harsh Vardhan, for all his sincerity, never came across as a radical outside who would change the system.  Modi does. That is why the CNN-IBN CSDS post-poll survey for Delhi (which admittedly under-estimated AAP) revealed that almost 50 percent of AAP voters would switch their vote to BJP and Modi in the 2014 General Election.

Read more at here: $ Courtesy: First Post.

Ridiculous: Indian Press and Media Person should abandon to exhort Modi. Please.

Kejriwal's success: Five takeaways Narendra Modi should not ignore

Ajith Vijay Kumar | Zee News | New Delhi | December 10, 2013:: Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party’s spectacular run in Delhi has come as an interjection to the Narendra Modi focused political discourse. 

The media too, for once, chose to go beyond chanting ‘NaMo NaMo’ mantra and focused its lens on the power of the broom. The Sunday was super for the BJP and Modi was in Delhi but the arc lights were all on the AAP. 

The debutant party’s spectacular show has challenged all conventional notions in politics; it is that kind of disruptive event that can fundamentally change the tide. Although they now have a voice, banking on AAP’s ability to change the ‘system’ would be a premature notion – like Barack Obama getting honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts" to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. 

Arvind Kejriwal will have to walk the talk. Wisdom says he will, or at least try, to bring change as the broom that swept away the Congress and halted BJP’s march to the podium can also sweep his party away from public consciousness. 

While the Congress had seen the 4-0 washout coming, it is the BJP that has to be on the watch as the Narendra Modi Express speeds its way towards Delhi. 

Though the BJP can now be reasonably sure that it has a good chance to trounce the Congress wherever they are in direct contest with each other, for success in states where there is a powerful regional force, the BJP and Narendra Modi can take a few lessons from the AAP book of success. 

Kejriwal promise of clean politics has thrown up new paradigms and no political party, not the least the BJP, can afford to ignore. 

Read the rest: $ Courtesy: Zee News.

Modi is in Driver Seat. No Other. 

In Uttar Pradesh, Narendra Modi needs to play it right 

AK Verma | ET | Zee News | New Delhi | December 10, 2013:: There is a curiosity among people, some euphoric and others panicky, about Narendra Modi's chances of becoming PM. Since Godhra and Gujarat 2002, he is the most criticised political leader in India. Yet, he has been repeatedly elected CM of Gujarat. Will he succeed at the national level too? The outlook is not easy for Modi.

If we look at the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led NDA drew a blank in 12 out of 28 states and in four out of seven Union Territories that collectively make for 162 seats. In addition, BJP has lost three major NDA allies since 2009: the JD(U) in Bihar with 20 seats, the RLD of Ajit Singh in Uttar Pradesh with five seats and, Yedyurappa in Karnataka where it had won 19 seats under his leadership.

All these total to a whopping 206 seats. So, the crucial question is: would Modi be able to make up for that loss and, if yes, how? This can be countered. One, states where BJP won nothing last time may be 'catch states' as any seats won there would be bonus. Such states may be Telangana, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Delhi. Two, in Bihar, BJP may make up for losses as it will contest all 40 seats. In 2009, it contested only 15 seats and won 12, leaving 25 seats for its NDA ally JD(U). It may also get more votes owing to peoples' possible disapproval of Nitish's decision to disband the BJP-JD(U) coalition.

Three, BJP can more than compensate for loss of the RLD in western UP owing to the Muzzaffarnagar riots resulting in a shift of the Jats to BJP. And, finally, Modi may win new allies in AIADMK, TDP and Yedyurappa's Karnataka Jana Paksha.

But, all eyes are actually on how Modi will perform in UP where 80 seats are at stake and where the BJP's stocks are down. In 2009, it won 10 seats with 17.5% votes. Since then, the party had recorded accretions in vote share among Muslims (+4%), and Jatavs or Chamars (+2%) in assembly elections in 2012. How will Modi's candidature impact these communities' response to the BJP?

Muslims are showing up at Modi's rallies though their presence has varied from negligible to heavy. So, are Muslims attracted to Modi? Perhaps, some of them had no problems in states ruled by BJP either independently, as in Gujarat, MP and Chhattisgarh, or in coalition, as in Bihar untill recently.

Additionally, growing economic heterogeneity among them has sharpened class divides along caste lines; upper caste Ashraf, middle caste Azlaf and lower caste Arzal Muslims have realised how their economic interests differ. Modi's development agenda may attract backward Muslims (Azlafs and Arzals), also called pasmanda Muslims. 

Read the rest: $ Courtesy: ET.