The tumultuous victory posted by Narendra Modi was of galactic proportions like an electoral Big Bang in the history of Indian Politics. Even as the opposition was bringing in snoopgate, his marriage, 2002 Gujarat riots etc. till they ran out of steam, Modi criss-crossed the country like a possessed hiker unwilling to take any break and established a one-to-one contact with massive crowd who were cheering every sentence he spoke. Contrast this with the staid prepared speeches read out by others to bus loads of people to elicit only lukewarm response.
Support to Modi initially came in trickles like pre-monsoon showers until it cascaded into a river in spate to burst forth with such force, the results were indeed akin to a Tsunami uprooting everything that came in the way. Election pundits were stupefied, poll forecasters were scurrying for cover as nobody with whatever formulae and curve-fitting software could predict his stunning performance. Thirteen of the 16 Central Ministers lay on the side vanquished; opposition was decimated to silence, even allies with pre-poll arrangements left wondering what next.
No doubt it was a fantastic achievement beyond realm of imagination.
However, when things cool down and reality resurfaces, administration and governance must come into the picture frame and Modi would need all focus that he could muster. When formation of cabinet, never an easy task, complete with inevitable clash of super egos and distrust is over and Modi Government settles down to work, world will watch with renewed interest India's march as it did after Independence under one-Party rule, though not Congress this time.
Actions have to match soaring expectations of people; particularly, after their hopes were belied by scam-ridden Congress-led Government and a flicker of better tomorrow has just been lit. The task is anything but gigantic and daunting by all accounts.
As Modi's Government takes guard to fulfil its promises, there are some pitfalls which they must avoid.
Modi was shrewd enough to make development as his main plank as he felt it was singularly lacking the last few years. But what he should beware of are forces within and without which may veer him away from his goal to age-old vexed problems like Ram Mandir. This is a delicate time-consuming emotive issue and the present moment or national mood is not exactly ripe to dwell on it. The RSS may be keen to queer the pitch but Modi should be wise and firm enough to put this in the backburner.
Modi takes over at a time when elections were fought bitterly over Gujarat riots of 2002. All though the Courts have cleared him at the highest level, political parties wanted to keep the issue alive and hoped to reap the benefits. As it turned out they badly burnt the fingers try as they did to draw political mileage.
Even now, fringe elements may still create communal disturbances around the country to discredit the new Government. This has to be handled with an Iron hand inside a velvet glove. While anti-social elements have to be quelled with speed and alacrity, care must be taken to ensure the minority do not apprehend danger to their lives and livelihood.
A climate of fear psychosis will do no good at any time. It will indeed be a tight-rope walk and Modi would do well to master this as time and again he may be called to exhibit this skill. Development needs less turbulence and hence the need to maintain peace by all means at all times.
Most parties hope to scrape through in any election and form a Government. But when the victory goes beyond with virtually no opposition, sometimes one can easily lose a sense of proportion. Power can indeed turn poisonous! And nothing corrupts like absolute power. It is important Modi carries all sections of people including opposition however small they may be right now.
Modi could follow the '80-20' Rule or Pareto Principle in his administration. Italian Economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1906 observed 20 per cent of the peapods in his garden accounted for 80 per cent of peas. This was called 80-20 rule which was applied initially in Economics and later to various sectors. For instance, 80 per cent of effects come from 20 per cent of causes. (It is also generally true 80 per cent of land is owned by 20 per cent of the population).
High price of almost all commodities is number #1 problem faced by people. The new Government should initiate steps in this regard to bring price of essential commodities and inflation under control and monitor the same to give solace to millions. At least 80 per cent of population if not more, will benefit from this. This should automatically get the highest priority of the government.
A close second is the problems in Agriculture. Farmers' suicides are a vexing and recurring phenomenon particularly in Maharashtra. Coupled with this is the enormous wastage of wheat despite a bumper crop due to lack of storing facilities year after year. Due to this failing, the country had to even import wheat as it could not store what was produced. This is where Planning Commission headed by down to earth economists would help restore semblance of balance.
Just by solving or controlling this, at least major problem faced by 80 per cent of population would have been solved.
India's industrial growth has hit a policy paralysis resulting in negative growth. No one can miss the fact that the country witnessed great progress under Narasimha Rao when he gave absolute freedom to his Finance Minister Manmohan Singh but floundered badly with Singh as Prime Minister for a decade.
Luckily Modi will not face some of the obstacles with respect to coalition politics and two power centres which created havoc in having an effective administration and the country is still paying a huge price. A fresh breath of impetus should be given so that the wheels of industry start moving again.
Sure enough there will be myriad problems that Modi's Government will have to contend with; but if the new Government tackles the top 20 per cent of problems effectively while keeping an eye on the pitfalls it would be a good start for a new beginning.
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