Modi lost while winning. Because no matter how it is spun, the fact is that this election was about - only about -- Modi.
Modi was omnipresent, through his rallies, his roadshows, the scripted interviews at the rate of one a day, and the wall-to-wall coverage tame media, acting as a force multiplier, voluntarily accorded him.
He was the candidate in every constituency -- the party said so; he even said so himself.
Modi was omnipotent -- no law applied to him; the Model Code of Conduct was ignored with impunity; the dozens of complaints filed against his hate-filled rhetoric 'disposed of' by the institution that was sworn to uphold free and fair elections.
Modi was omniscient -- the non-biological leader teleported from the heavens who could see, and therefore shape, not only the India of 2047 but even peer into the mists of time and produce a 1,000-year vision, albeit sans operational detail.
Modi won a Pyrrhic victory. For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat.
He needs the support of two major allies, neither known for constancy -- and when it comes to government formation, he faces the difficult task of satisfying their ambitions while holding on to key portfolios such as Finance, Defense, and Home.
That is half the battle. He then has to contend with a stressed economy (the electorate has clearly signaled that it is not buying the Modi version of India Shining), an empowered Opposition, and a fractious populace, and to confront the fact that he cannot, as he has in his first two terms, rule by imperial fiat; he can no longer push his wills and his whims through Parliament by the brute force of a majority.
by Prem Panicker
06/06/2024
