Is it justified for Prime Minister to spend so much of time in Karnataka campaign?

By NS Venkataraman*
It is known that there are pledged admirers and sworn critics of Mr. Modi not only in India but abroad also.
Leaving alone the admirers and critics there are many discerning observers who believe that Mr. Modi has brought around significant changes for better not only in industrial and economic profile of India during the last nine years but also in several other aspects in the personal and social life of country men. Apart from large infrastructure projects , industrial ventures , significant improvement in government transparency, digitalisation etc.
Mr. Modi stresses on clean India campaign, yoga culture etc. that have far reaching implications for the country.
Mr. Modi is known to work for very long hours everyday, chalking out plans for growth and reviewing the progress, even as he communicates with the people in different ways like Man Ki Baat ( Radio programme once in a month).
It is a fact that Mr. Modi’s time is very valuable and many people expect that his time and energy should be focused on taking India to greater heights. Some discerning observers have also expressed concern that Mr. Modi should spend so much of time in campaigning for his party in the state election in Karnataka and whether it is justified for a Prime Minister to do so. This appears to be a genuine concern without any political motive.
The issue today is that the leadership of the ruling party BJP is entirely focused on Mr. Modi and his stature appears to be far higher than anyone else in the party today. When people vote for BJP in the election , most of them have said that they have really voted for Mr. Modi.
Of course, most of the political parties in India have one or two leaders at the top ( almost all political parties in India apart from BJP are family controlled) and the political stature of no other party leader match anywhere near Mr. Modi’s level.
The question uppermost in the mind of everyone is why Mr. Modi is spending so much time in Karnataka election campaign. Is it because the performance of the incumbent BJP government in the state is not upto the mark and Mr. Modi wants to reassure the people of his party’s commitment.
In a democratic country, whatever may be the capability and commitment of the leader of the government, political power is vitally important. Any leader derives strength and command leadership from the people’s power bestowed on him. Perhaps, Mr. Modi , being clearly aware of the need for retaining the support of the people by winning election , does not want to face situation where his party would lose election in Karnataka. Unfortunately, there is nobody else in BJP who can match the charisma of Mr. Modi and enjoy the confidence of the people to the extent that Mr. Modi does.
Only explanation and justification for Mr. Modi spending so much of time and energy in campaigning for Karnataka election is that Mr. Modi thinks that it would be a calculated risk, if he would not launch himself fully in the campaign.
The net result is that the valuable time of Mr. Modi that should be spent on governance of the country, has been sacrificed for winning an election in one state.
---
*Nandini Voice For The Deprived, Chennai

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