Narendra Modi, the 14th Prime Minister of India, has elicited a number of public perceptions regarding his personality, background and policies.
Modi started his public career in the Hindu Nationalist RSS in the 1970s as a pracharak (RSS missionary). He was deputed by the RSS to their political arm, the BJP in the 1980s.Journalist Ashish Nandy in the early 1990s found in Modi a mind of a classic fascist. Modi's skills at organizing successful political campaigns saw him rising in the party hierarchy through the 1990s in his native state of Gujarat.He served as the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.The beginning of his tenure as the chief minister saw the sectarian riots of 2002, and the subsequent visa ban by many foreign governments.His overall tenure as chief minister saw faster economic development in Gujarat relative to other Indian states.This gave him the moniker, "Vikas Purush" or development man.
The 2014 Indian general election was fought with Modi at the center of a successful campaign. Modi has served as the prime minister of India since 2014. Despite having a penchant for announcing policies or policy changes at short notices that has caused harm, he remains the most popular politician in India, and the BJP builds its national and regional election campaigns with Modi as the central figure. Modi has long used Multimedia communication technology and public relations strategies to cultivate his image.These include use of Social media, government media outlets, and a careful control over his appearances.
Perception through the years
Journalist Ashis Nandy, who is also a trained psychologist, was one of the first to interview Modi when the latter was an RSS pracharak (missionary) at the height of the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign in the early 1990s. At that time in Modi, he found "a classic, clinical case of a fascist".
Soon after becoming the chief minister of Gujarat, the state was convulsed by sectarian riots in 2002.The complicity of Modi's government in the pogrom against the Muslim minorities made Modi a pariah for many years. The United States and many European countries imposed visa bans on Modi after the riots. These remained in force for many years and were lifted shortly before he became prime minister in 2014
After the Gujarat riots, Modi embarked on a strategy to make the state a friendly place to set up business and rebrand his image from being a Hindu hardliner to a development oriented leader. This led to him being dubbed as Vikaspurush (Development man). This was the main theme during his successful campaign in 2014.
In September 2013 Modi was named the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha election. Several BJP leaders initially expressed opposition to Modi's candidature, including BJP founding member L. K. Advani. Contrary to the strategies used by the party during previous elections, Modi played the dominant role in the BJP's presidential style election campaign. The 2014 election campaign was the first time he declared that he was married but had remained estranged from his wife, Jashodaben almost from the beginning of their married life. Upon the disclosure, lawsuits were filed against him for forging previous election documents as against prescribed rules of the Representation of the People Act.
Modi has for years presented himself as an able administrator with an eye for detail. But his reputation as a vigilant administrator started to lose its shine in 2016 when his notorious demonetisation policy caused distress to millions of Indians who largely relied on cash. Some critics termed this as "Tughlakifarman" (Tughlak's diktat) after Mohammed Tughlaq, the 14th century erratic sultan of Delhi. His reputation took a further hit in March 2020 when he imposed a complete lockdown in the country at four hours notice to stop the spread of COVID-19. This led to millions losing their jobs and many lost their lives. The Indian economy also shrunk in percentage terms by double digit numbers. For foreign observers, his nationalist impulses are always paired with a sense of technocratic competence. But according to Christopher Clary, assistant professor of political science at the State University of New York, technocratic competence has been entirely missing from his response to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India in early 2021.