Will Modi apologise for 2002? 'If he has to say it to become PM'

With elections just months away, even the Jaipur Literature Festival had quite the electoral buzz. His very public critic Amartya Sen did not bring up his name though he talked about the need for a right wing political party in India that was pro-business but secular. Sen might have avoided the M-word but others didn’t shy away from it. The veteran writer Ved Mehta, one of the first Indians to be enormously successful in the United States, said he worried about an India under Modi because he felt there was enough intolerance in the world already. Lord Meghnad Desai, in a panel on Bollywood, compared Modi to a Dabanng-like action figure. When an audience member asked what had happened to the Angry Young Man of Indian cinema, Desai quipped he had turned into Arvind Kejriwal. What Bollywood role that leaves Rahul Gandhi with, is anyone’s guess. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay has written the book Narendra Modi – The Man, The Times. He spoke to Firstpost at Jaipur.

Lord Meghnad Desai in a session on Bollywood called Narendra Modi a Dabanng-like figure. He also said Indira Gandhi was a Dabanng-like figure. What are your thoughts?

Well that’s an interesting analogy. I have not really thought about it. Yes, he has a a very aggressive style. I don’t know if I would say it’s a Dabanng style. It’s couched with treating religion as a primary basis of social identity. You have had previously aggressive leaders. I have said Modi reminds me of Indira Gandhi all the time. You have also had guys like Sanjay Gandhi. But neither Indira nor Sanjay gave as much of emphasis to religion as primary basis of social identity. I think that’s what makes for the fundamental difference.

Since you wrote the book he has been very active on the campaign trail. Has he changed?

Well he definitely started to show greater ability to change with the requirement of various places. But the basic thing which journalists try to find, whether he has said anything on 2002, I don’t think he has said anything very significant, not even in the recent post. I think a lot more will come out in next few months. But if anyone is looking to see if Modi will apologize for 2002 I will say highly unlikely before the campaign ends. It’s possible if he has to say it to become Prime Minister. If a gesture will enable him to do that he can do anything – even go to a dargah.

Do you think Modi as prime minister will still have a difficult time attracting allies as is often predicted? The way I look at it 160 – Modi – No. 180 –Yes. Likely. Strong likelihood. 200 plus – unstoppable. I don’t think people are going to stay away from the BJP because Modi is there though BJP has 200 plus seats. Everyone is going to come and suck up to him.

Has the Aam Aadmi Party altered the projections? Definitely there is huge potential. It’s still too early. In another month or a month and a half we can make out which direction the Aam Aadmi Party campaign is going. But at the moment it is too early. There are AAP enrolment camps coming up everywhere in urban India. The city of Jaipur, I am told, has them. We were in Dhanbad some time ago. It was there. What is worrisome for the BJP is every seat the Aam Aadmi Party wins is actually a reduction of the final possible potential total tally of the BJP. It’s all urban. These are the seats that went to the Congress in 2009 and would have gone to the BJP if there was no Aam Aadmi Party. If Aam Aadmi Party was not there BJP would have won 45 seats in Delhi.

A CNN-IBN poll in Delhi had found a large number of voters who were backing Kejriwal for CM, Modi for PM. Absolutely.Now it’s changed because they formed the government. A lot of people are saying neechey Kejriwal, upar Kejriwal.

You have also studied the Hindu right. Where is Modi placed currently in that context? He’s at loggerheads with Nagpur primarily over the issue of supremacy - whether he’s going to seek their endorsement for everything he intends to do. Or whether he is free to pursue policies on his own. At the moment both have made compromises with each other and I see that will continue for some time. It all depends on what kind of mandate Modi wins. If it’s 200-plus RSS will face a threat of being marginalized by Modi. If it’s between 180-200, the RSS would believe that they can rein him in.

What impact do Mani Shankar Aiyar’s Modi can sell tea comments have? Making such statements only enables Modi to consolidate his vote bank. It does not get any fresh votes for Congress. In fact, some people might find it very revolting. How can you make such obnoxious statements on a public platform?

Where do his opponents most underestimate Modi? I think they underestimate his capacity to adapt if needed. So far there has not been any need. I see Modi adapting quite a lot after the verdict if he feels it necessary. But if BJP is less than 160 I think he would prefer the BJP sits in the opposition. There is a possibility that 2014 might turn out to be what 1996 was for Vajpayee. But very seldom do you find in Indian politics that the script will repeat itself. There are too many imponderables.

You have followed him for awhile. Does he give interviews? Never. He never takes questions. At best he listens to people he trusts who give him information. It’s a kind of one track.

But it’s worked well for him. It works so well for him because he is a great performer. He has great theatrics. Modi is a case in himself. He is an autocrat. He does not believe in debate and discussion with people. He is someone who does what he thinks is right and does not believe in listening to other viewpoints. It’s worked in Gujarat which is a small state and represents 5% of India’s Lok Sabha. How it will work elsewhere has to be seen. It’s a very interesting period in the evolution of Modi. I look forward to seeing his further evolution not just in this parliamentary election but even later on.