New York: After Mahatma Gandhi, nobody else has as profound an understanding of Indian social psychology as Prime Minister Narendra Modi does, Press Secretary to the President of India and veteran journalist Ajay Singh has said.
Singh, who has authored the book The Architect of the New BJP: How Narendra Modi Transformed the Party’, was speaking at the launch of his book here on Sunday in the US at an event titled Impact Modi’ hosted in New Jersey by leading not-for-profit arts and cultural organisation Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC).
Prime Minister Modi has travelled extensively across India and “his understanding of social psychology is very profound,” which gives the Indian leader “strength” in dealing with various issues, Singh said.
“I have written about it extensively in the book and my thesis was, which was often quoted, that after Gandhi, there is nobody else who had so profound an understanding of Indian social psychology as Modi has,” Singh, Press Secretary to President Draupadi Murmu, said.
Singh was responding to a question on Prime Minister Modi’s tremendous popularity and how decisions like demonetisation did not dent his standing.
A veteran journalist with over 35 years of experience, Singh was appointed as Press Secretary to then-President Ram Nath Kovind in September 2019.
His book, which chronicles how the Bharatiya Janata Party has transformed over the decades and “reveals the lesser-known contributions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to this end, like his experiments with traditional methods of party-building”, was published in India in July 2022.
During the launch event attended by India’s Consul General in New York Randhir Jaiswal as well as by prominent members of the Indian-American community, Singh noted that as mentioned by him in the book, the BJP “has built an organisation which is so robust and so strong that it will outlast individuals.”
He noted that in the 1950s, the Congress party had that kind of robust organisation and it lasted till 2014.
Highlighting BJP’s history, from its predecessor the Bharatiya Jana Sangh which was formed in 1951 to the national elections in 2014 when Modi became Prime Minister after a landslide victory, Singh said that as he watched the Modi wave unfold, he pondered over developments taking place at the ground level that were leading to this change in the national political landscape.
“Since these questions have been before us for close to a decade, many answers have been proposed by now. Some believe it is Modi’s charisma and oratorical skills, others credit his undiluted commitment to the political ideology of Nation First'” while some say his “singular focus on development and good governance has done the trick.”
“True, all these factors have contributed to cementing the BJP’s position in India’s political landscape,” Singh said but added that when all put together, these reasons fail to explain the sheer scale of BJP’s victories.
Singh noted that BJP leader former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee too was extremely charismatic and an outstanding orator. The Vajpayee government also was known for its focus on good governance and developmental work though it lacked numbers and “had to depend on allies to come to power and hence some of the hot-button issues were kept in abeyance.
“Modi as Prime Minister has got the numbers and therefore has taken decisive steps” like abrogation of Article 370.
“What explains Modi’s astounding success… I must reveal the full answer. I’m afraid there is nothing mysterious there. It is more of a boring nuts and bolts factor, namely party-building. That is the full explanation of the rise and rise of Modi.”
Singh noted that from a “strong presence” in India’s Northeast to other states in the country, BJP, which was earlier confined to certain areas, “has broken geographical boundaries”.
The co-option of different social segments and expansion in the geographical region, “is the main strength of the party,” Singh said.
Singh underlined that as he analysed Modi’s ways of expanding the party, “I realised that he was not playing strictly by the party playbook. That is to say, he was not relying on conventional or traditional techniques alone but he was experimenting and innovating continuously… His approach can be termed disruptive in the positive sense.”
Singh also highlighted that in India, any expansion of a political party is almost always at the cost of ideology. “The more popular a party becomes, the more diluted its ideology gets. With Modi, however, the opposite is the case. As he has brought in more and more supporters in the fold, the BJP’s ideology has indeed returned to its roots.”
In response to a question on how the BJP has managed to expand beyond its traditional strongholds, Singh said one of the methods, which is “Modi’s innovation”, is to bring in people who have excelled in different spheres of life into its folds.
Responding to a question on how Prime Minister Modi navigates some of the decisions taken by his government such as the abrogation of Article 370 and farm laws, which were later withdrawn, Singh said Modi “has his own way of navigating those issues On certain issues, he takes a larger view of the nation…He would not stand on the prestige when it comes to national integrity or security.”
Last year, when India celebrated 75 years of its independence, Modi declared the next 25 years – the run-up to the country’s centenary as a free nation – as Amrit Kaal’, a time that will shape a new India, Singh said. “It is already happening, be it in diplomacy or economy, physical infrastructure or in the newfound confidence of the young generation. It is no secret that without Modi at the helm, the script of the past decades would have been a bit different.”
In his opening remarks, Singh said that wherever Prime Minister Modi goes, he has a “knack for creating waves” and his state visit to the US last month was no exception.
“Modi’s visit in a variety of ways showed the importance he attaches to the US and more importantly, the importance this nation attaches to him. What could explain that chemistry? If you ask me, the chief among the several reasons has to be democracy,” Singh said.
When asked about his reflections on Modi on the global stage and his role in shaping India’s position internationally, Singh said Modi has a “natural skill” of having a rapport with most of the global leaders. “That he does with a certain kind of finesse, which is remarkable,” Singh said adding that the Indian leader builds on the inherent strength of India.
The event was moderated by Senior Advisor, Defence and Aerospace at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum and former deputy assistant secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia Vikram J. Singh.
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