By Rajesh Chaturvedi
Commentators across the political spectrum have said that the 2014 general election has been about one man: Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate. And it’s not hard to see why so much media attention has been focused on just this one man: they have simply responded to the power of his communication.
Having been in the communications business for over 30 years, it’s a pleasant experience to watch someone – Modi, in this case – use his communications capability to best effect in his speeches, interviews and public appearances. We learn new techniques (like addressing campaign meetings using holograms) or rediscover principles that have stood the test of time: being simple, clear and sincere in everything that he says.
His bearing and attitude have been confident and his responses fairly direct. Even while facing hostile interviewers – Arnab Goswami of Times Now comes to mind – Modi has been completely at ease. He hasn’t ducked the tough questions, or simply disarmed them with a smile and a laugh. Where it was warranted, he called a spade a spade.
Being simple has nothing to do with Modi’s self-professed humble origins; rather, it has to do with his ability to present wide-ranging ideas and complex policy in terms that ordinary people can understand and relate to. More than anything, he was consistent in his statements – whether they were about coalition politics, governance or Hindutva – demonstrating how well prepared he was. His clarity on why he is the best man for the job – of heading our Central government – is welcome, coming as it does after years of indistinct pronouncements or uncomfortable silence on important national issues. He cites his record on good governance as chief minister of Gujarat and the results it has produced: state GDP grew at faster than the national average for over a decade. He is just as clear about what he sees as the people’s expectations, hopes, and the aspirations of its young population that number over 400 million between the ages of 18 and 24 years of age. In simple and clear terms, Modi has asked for the opportunity to lead the nation on the basis of his performance as Chief Minister, a chance that many people believe he deserves.
And he is believable, because he believes: that is the essence of his sincerity, which came through in the heat and dust of the last seven weeks of hectic campaigning. To me, his style is reminiscent of that of another great leader, the late US President Ronald Reagan; like him, Modi’s communications represent the way he approaches his life: doing what makes sense, keeping it simple and reflecting the values that make us a great nation.
As Modi is on the verge of assuming charge as India’s next Prime Minister – at the end of a thumping poll victory – his style of communications could be just what we need to blow away the doubt and uncertainty that has haunted us for the last five years.
(The author is Chairman, Adfactors PR Pvt Ltd)
