Fishing for compliments: Modi sarkar's publicity blitzkrieg smacks of desperation

The self-congratulatory blitz unleashed by the Narendra Modi government on the country to mark the completion of its first year in power is unprecedented. Being modest or underconfident was hardly ever a strong trait in the genetic make-up of the BJP, but this time it has exceeded itself in this self-glorification exercise. It would be acceptable if substance and hype weren’t mismatched and there was no hint of desperation in the exercise.

Why desperation? The fact that the government has chosen to make it such an high decibel event is perhaps indication that all may not be well when it comes to its achievements. It wants to drown out uncomfortable questions by bombarding us with confusing numbers, arguments that don’t quite add up and the clever excuse of legacy. Surely, one year is not enough to judge a government’s performance, there are legacy issues and there’s nothing to fault Modi’s government on intent, particularly on matters economy so far, so why this blitzkrieg?

Is there a realisation in the ruling dispensation that behind the carefully constructed facade of positivity and exuberance, the criticism is gathering strength and that its performance hasn’t been good enough to speak for itself and quell such statements? The government’s army of cheerleaders and faithful swamping the media space with glowing, and unabashedly uncritical, tributes to the achievements in the year past would have us believe that India has made a clean break from its diffident, reticent and ‘tainted’ past and is now in an exciting space of possibilities. It is difficult to accept all that without suspension of belief.

To be fair to the Modi government, the first one in 30 years without the baggage of a political coalition, has been successful in conveying the impression that it means business, literally and figuratively. The macro economy has got into good shape, with a big dollop of help from global factors, and there’s clear intent on tackling structural issues in the economy. NRI confidence in the country is up.

The prime minister has been able to project himself as the leader of the country and thus restored the dignity of his office, which had gone missing during UPA rule to a great extent. If he weren’t perpetually in election campaign mode, he would come across as a sagacious politician too. In short, there’s this feeling that there’s a government in place and it’s willing to take responsibility for its actions, unlike earlier. All these would have been enough to flaunt after one year, but Modi and his party decided to go for overkill, exposing the government to closer scrutiny.

It would still have scored a respectable six out of ten marks in public ratings despite its disaster that is also called its Pakistan policy – it’s so obviously directionless but BJP’s leaders and apologists would, for some reason, still call it a success; alienation of the farming community courtesy the Land Bill; low job generation, a disappointment so far among the youth who voted for the party in 2014; an overall indifferent industrial growth; the invisibility of a Make-in-India policy despite an emphasis on it; and the approval of many UPA’s policies which the party opposed while in opposition. While on the negatives it’s difficult to keep the activities of the Hindutva groups out. The government’s silence on them has created apprehension among the minorities and a major section of Hindus too. They are lying low now, but it’s a matter of time they resurfaced with their aggressive illiberal agenda.

It was a unique convergence of favourable sentiment across segments that saw Modi and the BJP sweep the elections in 2014. Farmers, youth, the middle class and the urban rich – the well-orchestrated campaign held out a bright promise for all. It sustained through the elections in five states where the party swept to power. One year down the line, the overarching feel-good sentiment shows signs of wearing off. The confidence in the government is waning, though it’s not entirely lost yet. The party and the government must do something to revive it apart from blocking the space for the opposition to revive itself. Perhaps that explains the sense of urgency the government and the BJP on the occasion of the completion of one year in power.

From here on the government will require much more than Modi’s fabled oratorical skills and the legacy argument to keep its constituencies satisfied. Year one was an extended honeymoon period for the Modi government, year two will be much tougher.