PM Modi at Madison Square Garden: Decoding his Bollywood star strategy

Wherever he is, the politician in Narendra Modi is never missing. Whether he is pumping up a crowd in Varanasi or playing to the non-resident Indian (NRI) gallery in Madison Square Garden, Modi always comes up a winner. It is, of course, possible to be cynical and say that Modi was preaching to the converted in New York, and getting an already-eager crowd to chant “Modi, Modi” was hardly something to crow about. But when was the last time you saw an Indian Prime Minister drive an audience to frenzy in New York or even New Delhi? Did Manmohan Singh even draw a polite handclap when he spoke anywhere, leave alone New York or Washington? Did Indira Gandhi get the kind of extra-warm reception Modi got over the last few days, despite a bunch of spoilers who wanted to hark back to 2002? [caption id=“attachment_1736223” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Modi’s display of clout with both the NRI and domestic audiences helps him flex Indian muscle with US lawmakers. Reuters[/caption] I have been skeptical about the purpose of Modi’s five-day stump in the US at a time when his party is facing two major electoral challenges in Maharashtra and Haryana, but it is impossible to ignore the energy Modi brought to Indians in North America and vice-versa. The NRI adulation energised Modi too. This is why he was full of beans despite being on a fast for days. And just in case you think Modi’s performance in Madison Square was all about pandering to fawning NRIs, people who anyway are predisposed to liking Modi, let us be clear: Modi’s message was sent to three different constituencies, each one intertwined with the other in some way. Modi was simultaneously talking to the electoral audience back home and the Indian diaspora in the US. Even though NRIs in the US are not a factor in Indian domestic politics, the mere fact that they lionised Modi would not have been lost on voters back home. What works for Americans, we accept without question. For NRIs, Modi’s growing global status helps raise their own power profile in America. Modi’s display of clout with both the NRI and domestic audiences helps him flex Indian muscle with US lawmakers who have hitherto been lukewarm to him, thanks to the machinations of the evangelical lobby. President Obama, a late convert to the idea of being on the right side of Modi, could not have failed to get the message. The Madison Square Garden demonstrated to US politicians that there are three million well-educated, well-to-do Indians, and they can be a strong force in American politics even though their political persuasions may be different and their vote may be fragmented. If Indian-Americans get their political act together, they can constitute a strong lobby, especially if they combine with the Jewish lobby. It is interesting that Modi met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and also representatives of the American Jewish Congress during his New York stay. The American trip also demonstrates how Modi works the media by largely ignoring it. With Modi providing few opportunities for media interactions in India — the Editors Guild of India even protested about it recently — there was a veritable feeding frenzy in the US, with almost all TV channels out there in force. One should call it the Bollywood strategy of getting the media to toe one’s line by playing hard-to-get most of the year. The big stars of Bollywood — Shah Rukh, Aamir Khan, et al — seldom talk to the media except when they are about to release a major film. Media interactions are suddenly offered to all Bollywood writers and news channels after starving them of one-on-ones for the best part of the year. The net result: the stars have the media eating out of their hands and asking them only the kinds of questions that they want to answer. This is what happened before the Lok Sabha elections, when TV channels were busy trying to obtain interviews with Modi. They got the interviews only towards the end, and they were desperate enough at that time to meet Modi on his terms. Modi got a free ride with the media. This strategy can work only if you are a star and there is a premium on your meeting anybody. But as the Modi caravan in the US showed, if there is a politician in India who can be called a super star, it is him. When it comes to managing his image, Modi and his handlers are masters of the game.