Narendra Modi: Difference between revisions

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During the campaign, Modi focused on the corruption scandals under the previous INC government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat.<ref name="Jaffrelot 2015"/> Modi projected himself as a person who could bring about "development," without focus on any specific policies.<ref name="Jaffrelot 2015"/> His message found support among young Indians and among middle-class citizens. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to [[secularism]], areas in which he had previously received criticism.<ref name="Basu 2014" /> Prior to the election Modi's image in the media had centered around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, but during the campaign the BJP was able to shift this to a focus on Modi's [[neoliberalism|neoliberal]] ideology and the Gujarat model of development,<ref name="T&NM 2015" /> although Hindutva remained a significant part of its campaign.<ref name="Jaffrelot 2015"/><ref name="Chacko" /><ref name="Ganguly 2014">{{cite journal|last1=Ganguly|first1=Sumit|s2cid=154421269|title=The Risks Ahead|journal=Journal of Democracy|date=October 2014|volume=25|issue=4|pages=56–60|doi=10.1353/jod.2014.0077|url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0d1972096ec288e4b0c58679a16bf66172fdb31e}}</ref> The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media.<ref name="Hariss 2015">{{cite journal|last1=Hariss|first1=John|s2cid=147615034|title=Hindu Nationalism in Action: The Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian Politics|journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies|year=2015|volume=38|issue=4|pages=711–718|doi=10.1080/00856401.2015.1089826|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1230188}}</ref> Modi's campaign blitz cost approximately {{INRConvert|50|b}},<ref name="Basu 2014" /> and received extensive financial support from corporate donors.<ref name="Hariss 2015" /> In addition to more conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media,<ref name="Basu 2014" /><ref name="Jaffrelot 2015"/> and addressed more than 1000 rallies via [[hologram]] appearances.<ref name="Ganguly 2014" />

The BJP won 31% of the vote,<ref name="Stepan" /> and more than doubled its tally in the [[Lok Sabha]] to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since [[1984 Indian general election|1984]].<ref name="T&NM 2015">{{cite journal|last1=Chakravartty|first1=Paula|last2=Roy|first2=Srirupa|year=2015|title=Mr. Modi Goes to Delhi: Mediated Populism and the 2014 Indian Elections|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1527476415573957|journal=Television & New Media|volume=16|issue=4|pages=311–322|doi=10.1177/1527476415573957|via=|s2cid=145151089}}</ref><ref name="Chacko" /> Voter dissatisfaction with the INC, as well as with regional parties in North India, was another reason for the success of the BJP,<ref name="Chacko" /> as was the support from the RSS.<ref name="Jaffrelot 2015"/> In states such as Uttar Pradesh in which the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, although the 10 percent of Muslim votes won was more than it had won before. It performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims.<ref name="Chacko" /> The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say that the election constituted a political realignment away from [[progressivism|progressive parties]] and towards the right-wing.<ref name="Basu 2014" /><ref name="Chacko">{{cite journal|last1=Chacko|first1=Priya|last2=Mayer|first2=Peter|title=The 'Modi lahar [wave]' in the 2014 Indian national election: A critical realignment?|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10361146.2014.937392|journal=Australian Journal of Political Science|year=2014|volume=49|issue=3|pages=518–528|doi=10.1080/10361146.2014.937392|s2cid=154806289}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Palshikar|first1=S.|last2=Suri|first2=K. C.|title=India's 2014 Lok Sabha elections: Critical shifts in the long term, caution in the short term|journal=Economic and Political Weekly|year=2014|volume=49|pages=39–76}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Sridharan|first1=Eswaran|s2cid=154421269|title=Behind Modi's Victory|journal=Journal of Democracy|date=October 2014|volume=25|issue=4|pages=56–60|doi=10.1353/jod.2014.0077|url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0d1972096ec288e4b0c58679a16bf66172fdb31e}}</ref> Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism.<ref name="Kaur 2015">{{cite journal|last1=Kaur|first1=Ravinder|s2cid=53451635|title=Good Times, Brought to you by Brand Modi|journal=Television & New Media|year=2015|volume=16|issue=4|pages=323–330|doi=10.1177/1527476415575492|url=https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/137464936/Good_Times_Brand_Modi_TVNM.pdf|type=Submitted manuscript}}</ref>

The nomination of Modi for the prime ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians."<ref name="Basu 2014" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130702/jsp/nation/story_17071479.jsp|title=Boomerang warning in article on 'polarising' Modi|last=Ramaseshan|first=Radhika|work=The Telegraph|location=Kolkata|date=2 July 2013|access-date=15 August 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111231449/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130702/jsp/nation/story_17071479.jsp|archive-date=11 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Specials/Coverage/Gujarat-Assembly-Elections-2012/Chunk-HT-UI-GujaratAssemblyElections2012-BlogPostsAshokMalik/Popular-but-polarising-can-Narendra-Modi-be-PM/SP-Article10-956550.aspx |title=Popular but polarising: can Narendra Modi be PM? |last=Malik |first=Ashok |work=Hindustan Times |date=8 November 2012 |access-date=15 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210144412/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Specials/Coverage/Gujarat-Assembly-Elections-2012/Chunk-HT-UI-GujaratAssemblyElections2012-BlogPostsAshokMalik/Popular-but-polarising-can-Narendra-Modi-be-PM/SP-Article10-956550.aspx |archive-date=10 February 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/opinion/sunday/indias-divisive-technocrat.html| title=In India, a Dangerous and Divisive Technocrat| last=Bajaj| first=Vikas| work=The New York Times| date=22 December 2012| access-date=15 August 2013| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228050737/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/opinion/sunday/indias-divisive-technocrat.html?_r=0| archive-date=28 December 2012| df=dmy-all}}</ref> During the 2014 election campaign the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader, who would be able to take difficult decisions.<ref name="Basu 2014" /><ref name="Chhibber" /><ref name="Jaffrelot 2015" /><ref name="Chacko" /><ref name="Srivastava" /> Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, in a manner unusual for the BJP and RSS.<ref name="Jaffrelot 2015" /> Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and "development".<ref name="et20130715">{{cite news | title=NaMo, Ram the new mantra on Dalal Street! | url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/analysis/namo-ram-the-new-mantra-on-dalal-street/articleshow/22576714.cms | work=The Economic Times | date=15 September 2013 | access-date=16 September 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111133246/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/analysis/namo-ram-the-new-mantra-on-dalal-street/articleshow/22576714.cms | archive-date=11 January 2015 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Nonetheless, his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy.<ref name="Buncombe" /> Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda.<ref name="Buncombe" /><ref name="Stepan" /><ref name="Manor" /><ref name="Jaffrelot 2015" />