2014 - The Election That Changed India

Title: 2014 – The Election that Changed India

Editor: Rajdeep Sardesai

Publisher: Penguin Viking, 2014 (First)

ISBN: 978-

Pages: 372

Prime Minister Narasimha Rao liberalized a stagnated Indian economy that was overburdened with ridiculous licensing stipulations designed only to maximize the illegal gratification squeezed out of the entrepreneurs. Visual media was one such beneficiary. A nation that was bored to death with the sycophantic programs being aired by the state television company, Doordarshan, awoke to a new era in which private TV channels vied with each other to bring out breaking news and entertainment that appeal to the viewing public. News anchors of a new age suddenly appeared on the horizon and the author, Rajdeep Sardesai, is perhaps the brightest star of that first generation. He perfected the art of shooting a slew of pointed questions in a fearless manner at a politician who had the (mis)fortune of being the centre of attraction. Elections provide a carnival atmosphere in the country when every citizen feels empowered and the political leaders pander to them at least for once in five years. India is the world’s largest democracy and understandably, the costs for making this exercise happen are also huge. Money of both hues, that is, black as well as white flow like water during the run up to elections. Such a huge cash flow ensures mirth to the people as well as the media. Many media megastars cut their teeth through election reporting. The author had proved himself through some excellent association with NDTV and Prannoy Roy during the early 1990s. This is his first book ever, and he confesses that for a journalist who writes about 1000 words a day, embarking on a 100,000 word book was a gigantic task. But needless to say, the work has been an immense success and nobody has put out a similar work with so profound a ringside view. Sardesai is intimately known to the mighty leaders and he has access to gossip and loose talk even in the highest echelons of power. With his bold style of attacking the problem in the eye, he has published this eminently readable book.

The 16^th General Elections that was held in 2014 was a landmark event in Indian history. This was the first time a clearly right-of-centre party assumed power with a clear majority on its own. The days of bickering among the allies for plum posts and lucrative ministries (ATM, as he calls them) are over. The book may be divided into three major sections. Two of them provide glimpses of the persona of the main contenders of the battle – Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. The curious personality traits of the leaders are laid bare before the readers. Thus we come to know that Modi doesn’t brook any miff from the media and won’t tolerate rebukes on past deeds. He literally walked out of an interview when the host mentioned the 2002 Gujarat riots. A section of the intelligentsia in collusion with a section of the media always made the issue very much alive in public discourse. They never let Modi forget it, and he grew paranoid at the slightest mention of the riots. Sardesai cites many instances when the Gujarat chief minister accused him of partisanship that was alleged on the English-language media. However, this book faithfully covers the flagship programs implemented by the state of Gujarat under Modi at the helm. Jyoti Gram and Kanya Kelavani are two such projects which were huge successes in supplying electricity to villages and ensuring girls’ education. Rahul pales into insignificance when compared to Modi’s achievements. Rahul had excellent ideas, but lacked the will power to make them happen. There was no follow up to his rhetoric and the Congress supporters gradually lost touch with him. As the author says, “Even in the sycophantic tradition of the Congress party, respect has to be earned”. Rahul’s stage-managed media conferences in which he belittled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his wavering on corruption issues only made the matters worse. Besides, he harboured an undesirable habit of leaving the country on important occasions with the supporters having no clue of his whereabouts.

One section is dedicated to cover the famed Indian election in great detail and how Team Modi made it a grand success. The author explains in detail the mighty PR machine put up by the BJP. The party has been fortunate in enlisting the support of a few highly qualified and competent people who were so committed to the goal as to willingly back out of the limelight and work ferociously from behind the screen. Modi’s most valuable faculty is his ability to spot talent in others. A great deal of the campaign mimicked Obama’s strategy in the U.S. presidential race. The author strikes a note of caution on the immense amounts of money being spent by all parties in the run up to elections. When the author guessed a figure for the total expenses, party treasurers laughed at him. Reading between the lines, the book poses a question mark on the advisability of depending solely on the charisma of a single individual. RSS had some compunction at first in adopting such a personalized campaign paradigm, but later, they sensed the direction in which the wind was blowing and contributed their entire machinery into the effort. Ironically, the personal appeal of a leader has once again begun to sway the voters, after that era was thought to have been forever gone with the death of Indira Gandhi.

There is a subtle clue the book provides to the reader. The media, especially the visual one, is so powerful now, that no politician can escape its watchful gaze. If at all he manages to do so, that is going to be the end of his career. Without being in the limelight, a leader is nothing in today’s India. Perhaps, nobody understands it better than Arvind Kejriwal, the adventurous angry young man of Aam Admi Party. Each one of his acts was so designed as to ensure maximum visibility among TV viewers. Media men jokingly predicted in early 2014 that his resignation from Delhi Chief Minister-ship would be at the time of prime time TV and it happened exactly as expected! The media men are so powerful in making or marring a politician that they have direct access to most of the leaders at any time of the day. The author was conversing with Laloo Prasad Yadav in his bathroom while he was shaving! Leaders like Rahul Gandhi who want to preserve their privacy fall foul of the media. Such a glamorous career, as exemplified by that of the author, is sure to attract impressionable young minds on to pursuing journalism. One of the direct fallout of the book will be this.

The book and the author are the happy products of freedom of speech and opinion and a free press that can only be found in a functioning democracy. Sardesai mentions the remarks of Pakistani premier Nawaz Sherif when he was in exile in Saudi Arabia in 2004. On the change of government in India in 2004, Sharif said, “Your democracy is truly special. One government comes in, another goes but there is no vendetta or bloodletting. Look at us in Pakistan. I am here in Jeddah, Benazir is shuttling between London and Dubai. Neither of us can return home. You are a lucky country” (p.331). Those few of us who ridicule democracy and long for an efficient military rule should read these lines and realize the good fortune we are experiencing in having had the opportunity to live in a democracy. This volume is a mirror on the political lives of most of the politicians who are something in the country. Not only Modi and Rahul, but we also read detailed narrative of the functioning of Amit Shah, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhis, Mamta Banerjee and others.

As can be expected, the author has gone a bit pompous on at least a couple of occasions. He claims that Anna Hazare’s satyagraha was shifted from the originally planned venue in Mumbai to Delhi on his suggestion to its organizers that such a major political campaign modeled on Tahrir Square Protests should set out from the national capital. Then again, Sardesai’s expose of Sharad Pawar’s bid for power immediately after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination is said to have damaged Pawar’s prospects of striking a deal with other prominent Congress leaders and Pawar is said to have mentioned this to the author with regret. Lack of an Index is a drawback for a book of this genre. Also, a small but candid collection of rare photographs would have added great interest.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star