Shivraj Chouhan's humility is making him a contender for 2014

If there is one crippling condition that unifies the Congress and BJP - it has to be a leadership paralysis. With Manmohan Singh’s public appeal having lost teeth and Rahul Gandhi’s obviously immature and restrained politicking not cutting ice with the masses, Congress will be hard pressed to come up with a face that can propel the party’s election campaign. On the other hand, while BJP does have a tempestuous political force called Narendra Modi leading the way, resentment within the party and among prospective allies against the Gujarat CM’s communal positioning, has put the party in two minds about going ahead and declaring Modi its prime ministerial candidate. The fact that the dilemma is still a reality in the highest ranks of the party, despite BJP declaring Modi its campaign chief, is endorsed by incidents like Rajnath Singh sternly writing off the Bihar BJP's Modi-for-PM resolution. Singh, in fact, issued an advisory asking party members to refrain from making such political statements without consultation with the senior leadership. The message is clear: Modi will be declared BJP’s prime ministerial candidate only in a scenario where no other BJP leader conjures up enough appeal to be showcased as a national leader. A leader who neither divides the party backroom nor appeals to voters en masse outside his state riding just on his religious affiliations. Outside the world of internet users and educated middle class with several intellectually contested political opinions, lies large swathes of Indian voters for who caste and religion are social realities. And political reputation, to them, is not an extensively argued, evolving construct - those sections of Indian voters vote with their eyes on hasty, longstanding labels. Like Modi’s anti-Muslim image, further aggravated by his poll catchphrase - Hindu nationalist. [caption id=“attachment_1043421” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shivraj Chouhan and Narendra Modi. AFP.[/caption] Naturally, the BJP, by all its means, will try its best to either come up with an alternative to Modi, or paint his political image over with hints of a leader with a more accommodating nature. Also, as was evident from Modi’s flagrant challenge to Manmohan Singh on Independence Day, BJP stands the risk of being completely consumed by Modi’s personality, something that cannot bode well for a party which intends to run a government with allies and with unconditional cooperation from all its ranks. Given the number of ego hassles the party has faced within itself, letting Modi bulldoze the party, might not be good news for the integrity and morale of the party in general. A contender of some consequences, that the BJP might be able to fall back upon in this case, is Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Chouhan. Unlike Modi’s brand of abrasive, ‘I-me-myself’ politicking, Chouhan comes with a bit of a soft touch. While he might not fire popular imagination, especially, on the internet like Narendra Modi does, Chouhan’s appeal is rooted in the mass Indian predilection for the soft-spoken, mellow gentlemanliness. And like Modi shot to headlines and inspired the imaginations of several thousand by refusing to wear a Muslim skull-cap, Chouhan did exactly the opposite and earned flak for pandering to the Muslim population shamelessly by sporting a skull cap on Eid. However, from the point of view of a voter not too swayed by Modi’s rapturous rhetoric, Chouhan’s was a smart political move. Probably because it is easier to appreciate even a slightly populist gesture of acceptance, than look beyond cold dismissal. Another factor that probably works for Chouhan is his quintessential Indian ‘pehle aap’ (you first) courtesies, as opposed to Modi’s borderline megalomania. In a recent interview to The Economic Times, Chouhan declared that he has no national ambitions. Answering a question about his colleagues’ PM aspirations, Chouhan eagerly said that Madhya Pradesh has just started wheeling out of its miserable economy and that state needs more work - subtly hinting that he might want to complete his unfinished job in his state before taking on national ambitions. In fact, he says that while Modi qualifies as a leader, he just an ‘ordinary party worker’ - a position that is in sharp contrast to Modi and exudes a kind of humility that can be a mark of a successful statesman. ET quotes Chouhan:

Comparisons are made. But different states have different needs. Modi has done good work. His development and way of governing has been appreciated by the entire country. In Madhya Pradesh, the challenges are very different. Modi is a big leader, I am an ordinary party worker.

However, while emphasizing his role in Madhya Pradesh, he does hint that he will follow whatever leadership decision BJP’s parliamentary body makes. Needless to say, the ‘I’m-just-one-of-you’ trick works famously in India, especially with the grassroots - Mamata Banerjee’s victory in rural Bengal is standing proof of it. While Indian voters don’t mind looking up to one person, history stands witness that they bite the bait from-the-grassroots bait faster. Chouhan’s personality lends amply to that image. Vidya Subhramaniam notes in an article on The Hindu:

There is an eye-catching ordinariness to Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Unflatteringly attired and low-key, he would be indistinguishable from his audience but for the gaggle of officials who dutifully follow him.

In fact, working his religion neutral appeal, Chouhan falls back on Narendra Modi’s favourite philosopher Swami Vivekananda to justify his skull-cup stunt. He tells ET:

Our country’s philosophy is based on one truth. It can be said in different ways. Swami Vivekananda has said there are different rivers, but they all flow into the sea.

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This calculated quiet around his work has been the hallmark of Chouhan’s political career. In an article on Open magazine, Hartosh Singh Bal notes, that is equanimity might be why the BJP would want to look at Chouhan as an option:

If Modi ever heads a government at the Centre, his arrogance, his authoritarian ways, his inability to brook opposition or devolve responsibility are likely to create the same kind of crisis that Uma Bharati managed to foment in Madhya Pradesh. It is then—and many senior leaders in the party as well as the RSS anticipate this—that Chouhan will come into his own.

In fact, like Modi, traces his roots to RSS and its Hindutva ideology, he has made concerted efforts to make an impression that he is willing to accommodate other faiths in his political journey. The skull-cup incident is significant in that, the MP CM, even if playing to the galleries, openly acknowledges the Muslim population - thereby sending a message to most social minorities that he can be their go-to man. Chouhan has found a fine political middle ground where he doesn’t obviously stand out as an one-faith believer, but doesn’t have his Hindu roots questioned either. Something that Chouhan comes close to admitting in the Hindu interview:

Mr. Chouhan sees his rapport with the ordinary citizen as his biggest achievement. “I don’t lecture from the pulpit. I’m there among people. I go into crowds, I’m one of them. And every scheme of mine is drawn up in consultation with them.”

Chouhan, from his public interactions, comes across as a more inclusive leader within the BJP than Modi. For eaxmple, while in most interviews Chouhan constantly refers to Modi’s leadership skills, there haven’t been many occasions where Modi has referred to other successful chief minsters from BJP while urging people to vote for the BJP party as a whole. Also, Chouhan, unlike Modi has trumpeted the achievement of getting a sickly (Bimaru) state back on its tracks - something that might hold more appeal to an average voter than Modi’s proliferation of an already prosperous state with strong entrepreneurial strains. Instead of saying why India should replicate his model of governance, Chouhan explains how his state is on a upturn after years in misery and how that recovery will take time, but will happen. - a much more realistic approach as opposed to Modi’s advertisement of his no-flaw Gujarat model of development. Chouhan tells Subhramaniam:

I have come to be known as the ‘people’s Chief Minister.’ I do not spend all my time with bureaucrats, drawing up plans from an ivory tower. I go to the people as I believe that in a democracy, the Chief Minister is for the people. The system is for the people. A Chief Minister cannot be full of arrogance and ego.

“Arrogance and ego” has earned Narendra Modi 21, 33,225 followers on Twitter. Chouhan on the other hand just has 74, 071 followers. However, who has the power to sway the lakhs who haven’t heard of Twitter,  will ultimately lead the race. And that’s a ground where the only competition that Narendra Modi has is from Shivraj Chouhan.