21 December 2012, 06:50 PM IST
Narendra Modi, as we all already know, is a stubborn and unapologetic leader; he is also an astute politician too, with the rare gift of being a marketing whiz who knows the pulse of the people. On Thursday, after sweeping Gujarat off its feet for the third time, he showed that he can be a naughty young man as well.
He began his mischievous onslaught with his first words itself, delivering his victory speech in Hindi. "Get used to hearing me in Hindi," he said, waving his hands theatrically. It stunned his detractors and sent the obsessed media in a frenzy of tailspin, as everybody scrambled to unravel his intentions. After all, right through his campaign, he had only spoken in Gujarati.
"If you want, I will go to Delhi on December 27 for a day," he declared, mocking his baiters even more. Of course, he will go for the National Development Council meeting firmly ensconced as Gujarat's chief minister which is scheduled for Dec 26. He couldn't help but laugh as he uttered the chilling words; he even paused for a few seconds for its effect to sink in before he moved on.
He didn't stop there though; for almost a decade I have served my fellow 6 crore Gujarati brothers and sisters, he thundered. "Now, I want to get down to serving the country," he added. Even as his own party members and Prime Minister aspirants were reeling, he mollified them by adding: "If anybody in Kashmir or Kanyakumari is in trouble, I want Gujarat to be able to help him or her."
"If any state wants medicine or education or anything else, we should be in a position to help them," he said, this time totally poker-faced. Modi had clearly embarked on a journey of double word-play: he teased his disparagers by adding fuel to all the speculation that had been raging in the country over the last few weeks; at the same time, he left them hanging, without making any firm promise, either this way or that.
His coup de grace, though, was the way he handled the entire brouhaha over an apology, which according to experts would be enough to make him acceptable at the national level. "If over the last few years, you think I have done any wrong, I would like to apologize to my 6 crore Gujarati brothers and sisters."
He stressed the number again and again during his speech, conveying to all that he is counting each and every person living in the state; not too surprisingly, the national media went berserk: some claimed he was indeed referring to Godhra 2002 and must be forgiven; some argued that he should have been more direct to bury those ghosts once and for all; a few others, like always, insisted that this was not enough.
In the din and noise, if not their excitement, however, they all missed a very important point in his very next line. "Today, I stand in front of my 6 crore Gujarati brothers and sisters and seek your blessings so that in the future too, I don't make any mistake even unknowingly." He said it in one breath but the stress really should be on two words: 'too' and 'unknowingly'.
In one sweep, Modi cleverly apologized for any wrong that he may have done unknowingly and by saying 'I don't make any mistake in the future too', he made it clear that he HADN'T done any wrong in the past. That he has been ostracized for a perceived mistake, even more so because of a vicious negative campaign. The experts, however, failed to read between the lines.
At some stage, the astute politician that he is, Modi will talk about this subtle difference. Maybe in 3D, when his own party and his own bosses, acknowledge that he alone can lead BJP to victory at the next hustings.
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