Is Congress petrified of Modi?

Congress leaders tell anybody who bothers to pay attention that there is no Modi wave in the country, at best there is a pro-Modi response in the media and social media. But where it affects, among the voters there isn’t any concrete backing in support of the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate. Congress leaders tell us this in countless ways and do so constantly. So if the Gujarat chief minister has no real control over cosmic sections of the voting public then why is the Congress splurging so much time ripping him down?

The Congress is anxious because the Gujarat chief minister has been notched up victory in vital areas of authority. Like the Congress headship, Modi too highlights on the significance of financial growth. During the 11th plan period, the state recorded a 9.8 percent growth in state GDP; in fact the all India rate was 8 percent. Agriculture, the stronghold of a large section in the country, grew at 4.1 percent in Gujarat; the all India rate was 3.7 percent.

In this period, signs like infant mortality, maternal mortality too recorded improvement, outdoing all India standards. The Congress went to town about the Gujarat government’s assertion that the malnutrition levels in the state were lesser than those shown in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report. Even if the Gujarat government’s numbers are put aside, the CAG report demonstrates a downward trend in malnutrition rate from 71 percent in 2006-07 to 39 percent in 2010-11, a remarkable achievement. Modi’s capability to openly accept areas that need larger notice like malnutrition, elementary education and the readiness to experiment shows a cause of anxiety for the ruling Congress led-UPA government.

But what frighten the Congress more than numbers summarizing Gujarat’s accomplishments under Modi’s leadership are the stories or stories and the assurance these prompt. The stories about roads, electricity, safety and the experiments with renewable energy noticeable to the informal visitor to Gujarat outline the heart of these stories. These stories when repeated come with a constituent of contrast, with possible electors taking into account their realism with that of the stories from Gujarat and producing a sense of trust and optimism; the opportunity of a future that is improved than the present.

The stories have become part of the Modi arsenal–entrepreneurs and businessmen narrate the way in which new projects and ideas are managed by the state government, observers talk of the smooth conduct in which the government tends to complaints or grievances. All this help to boost the confidence of people who are fed up of scams, corruption and setbacks by an insensitive and cold administration. The Congress fears about Modi’s skill to express to his listeners that a BJP-led government would be compatible with their wishes and ambitions.

Will Narendra Modi turn out to be next prime minister? Will he be a better and efficient prime minister? These are queries for another day. Only time will tell. But for now, Modi has the people’s notice and the Congress is consecutively petrified.