(Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought ideas and suggestions from the people of the country to include in his Independence Day speech this year (2025). It is not yet known from whom he has received these suggestions, or how much he will use them. In this context, I am reissuing an article first published in April 2019.)
Narendra Modi has consistently enjoyed acceptance and support from various quarters that validate his claim to the post of Prime Minister. Even though, after five years in office, many have stepped out of his charm, an artificial aura is still being created around his prospects for a future term, as if it were inevitable. Whether voters agree with this perception will be known on May 23, 2019, when results are declared. The reality is that Team Modi, corporate houses, the RSS/BJP, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), mainstream media, and, above all, blind and supposedly ‘independent’ Modi supporters remain steadfast in certifying his eligibility. Yet the loudest voice in this chorus is Modi’s own. Such an intense self-assurance is not without reason, though the complex causes behind it are not easy to unravel. Still, some of the main factors can be identified.
This analysis excludes those still clinging to fantastical notions of Modi as some divine incarnation. It also omits the ordinary working masses, condemned to follow narratives crafted by the class that exploits them. Instead, it focuses on those who endorse Modi’s eligibility despite a long record of false statements (including on his marital status and educational qualifications), lies, ignorance, superstition, and displays of hatred. These are the educated, successful, and empowered—whether in India or abroad—or those on their way to becoming so.
Consider the corporate houses. Modi’s use of corporate wealth in his previous election campaign, his deployment of government funds for image-building, his advertising for Jio SIM, his inclusion of Nirav Modi in the World Economic Forum delegation, his misuse of state machinery to aid Vijay Mallya and Mehul Choksi in fleeing the country, his law to keep corporate political donations secret, demonetization to cripple small traders and farmers, premature ‘eminence’ status to the paper-only Reliance Jio Institute, sidelining Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in favour of Reliance Defence in the Rafale deal, direct appointments of private-sector experts as Joint Secretaries, and aggressive privatization across public enterprises—all make it self-evident that Modi’s ‘eligibility’ in the eyes of corporate houses is unquestionable.
It is equally beyond doubt for the RSS/BJP. No leader in the party dares oppose Modi’s corporate-driven policies. The RSS/BJP is content that Modi has built a ₹1,000 crore central office in Delhi, filled the Nagpur headquarters with wealth and prestige, and secured media coverage at home and abroad. The Sangh Parivar thrives in Modi’s reign—its people monopolize government posts and awards. The lotus of ‘cultural nationalism’ has bloomed under the shadow of corrupt, vulgar capitalism. This is the same party that forced L.K. Advani to resign for calling Jinnah ‘secular,’ yet did not question Modi’s unplanned visit to Pakistan’s Nawaz Sharif—because it knew this was no act of ‘Muslim appeasement’ but likely to serve powerful business interests.
Modi’s educated and well-off supporters are intoxicated by the belief that he has permanently ‘dealt with’ Muslims. For them, as for Modi, destroying Pakistan and terrorism is inseparable from hostility toward Indian Muslims. This hatred, passed down to their children, is viewed as the pinnacle of Hindutva and true patriotism. Many in this middle class, enriched under Congress rule, have prospered further in the neo-liberal era.
And what does Modi himself think about his eligibility? In an interview with a film actor, he recalled retreating to the forest for days to converse with himself. His line, “What is mine, I will walk away picking up my bag when the time comes,” is meant to convey detachment. Philosophies of renunciation exist worldwide, and fleeting moments of detachment can inspire self-improvement. But Modi’s introspection seems to have led not to self-realization but to deeper self-indulgence. A truly self-aware leader would feel compelled to correct his falsehoods and divisive rhetoric; Modi instead moves on to the next opportunity to repeat them. His eligibility, in his own eyes, is beyond question, and he has passed this intolerance for scrutiny to his supporters.
Modi is his own greatest admirer, his prime talent being event management to promote himself—a skill deeply tied to his corporate character. In his narcissism, he may think he controls corporate houses, but in truth, he is their pawn. Literature, especially European novels, is full of such self-absorbed figures—grand in their own eyes but mere playthings of the status quo, often ending in ruin. As Modi is axiomatic for corporate capitalism, corporate capitalism is axiomatic for him.
International politics also bolsters his standing. Powerful nations like the US, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, and China know Modi’s intellectual limits and his communal record. In 2005, the US barred him over the 2002 Gujarat riots, which it called a violation of religious freedom. Britain cut official ties with Gujarat for a decade. But once Manmohan Singh exited, the search for a natural leader of corporate capitalism led them to Modi, already running a neo-liberal laboratory in Gujarat. The US restored his visa; Barack Obama invited him to address Congress and dine privately, later accepting Modi’s invitation to be Republic Day chief guest. In return, Modi opened multiple sectors to 100% FDI. Neo-imperialist powers know that with RSS and Modi in power, dismantling India’s anti-imperialist traditions will be faster.
No discussion of Modi’s eligibility is complete without mentioning the role of the progressive and secular camp. The India Against Corruption movement disrupted the political landscape before the 2014 elections, weakening resistance to neo-liberalism and paving the way for Modi. This is detailed in Bhrashtachar Virodh: Vibhram Aur Yatharth (Vani Prakashan, 2015). In that atmosphere of ideological confusion, some even saw a ‘Lenin’ in NGO figure Arvind Kejriwal, casting him as an alternative to Modi. The fight in mainstream politics became neo-liberalism versus neo-liberalism, with real struggles replaced by contests over caste, religion, region, dynasty, and personality—or, more bluntly, over shares in the loot of resources and labour. Modi may be a pawn of corrupt, predatory capitalism, but in that role he faithfully represents India’s ruling class.
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The author, associated with the socialist movement, is a former teacher at Delhi University and a former fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla.
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