Modi is Brilliant and Has a Knack for Learning Quickly

Modi is a brilliant and seasoned politician although he is slightly new to the governing game in the national/international context but he is learning fast. His roots beckon him and the fact that he is still stuck with the Gujarat baggage was evident during the Chinese premier’s visit to India when he started the welcoming ceremony from Ahmedabad and not say any other big Indian city. In the recent bypoll elections to the Maharashtra and Haryana assemblies, he rightly praised Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri on some of the good work which these Congress leaders had done. There is absolutely nothing wrong in praising the Opposition Congress’ leading leaders on some issues where they have performed well, occasionally. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong also in pursuing the good policies and schemes which the Congress/UPA started some years back after due diligence and scrutiny on their effectiveness. The other right thing Modi has done is to call the NDA MPs meeting at Race Course to tell them in clear and unambiguous terms what he expects from them and how they should conduct themselves. Modi/Shah are brilliant campaign managers but governing is a different ball game altogether and Modi must not hesitate to invite or request help from experts in this area. But Modi will have to continue learning and smoothen his rough edges if he has to prove that the head which wears the crown can also rest easy.

MODI MUST BECOME MAGNANIMOUS: The first thing Modi has to ingrain in his personality is to become forgiving, accommodating, endearing, humourous and smile more often. If he does this, people will find it easier to overlook his faults and will support him. He should not nurse a grudge if someone has faulted him, and should forgivingly move ahead burying the past. He should macro manage on most issues giving the ministers more leeway and micro manage on some issues like defence, external affairs and home working closely with the ministers incharge in these areas allowing them to take credit for the good work they have done together.

MAHARASHTRA CHIEF MINISTER: We have had a very competitive fight in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena and BJP often attacking each other and their leaders. The Shiv Sena went a step ahead in attacking Modi unpleasantly. But here is where Modi’s magnanimity will come into play. He must invite Uddhav Thackeray to Delhi for a breakfast/lunch meeting and should discuss the nitty gritties of government formation with him. Afterall, Uddhav is many years his junior and Uddhav will be grateful to this gesture. Uddhav has also expressed a desire to become the Maharashtra CM. A good idea would be to make the BJP choice as Chief Minister for 2 years and Uddhav as the Deputy CM for 2 years followed by making Uddhav the CM for the next 2 years and the BJP choice as DY CM for the next 2 years. This will make the BJP/Shiv Sena alliance more stronger in the future.

INTELLIGENCE GATHERING AT DISTRICT LEVEL: India is a vast country and the Centre must have a pulse on what is going on in the districts of every state irrespective of the fact that whether they are NDA governed or UPA governed. A district intelligence unit must be set up in all the 570-odd districts of the country consisting of a information officer from the IIS, a intelligence bureau officer, a police officer from the Central services, a state civil service officer, and one or two other relevant officers whose job must be to update the Central government on the day to day development in the political, social, economic, business, security issues in the district and a big data management team in the Centre must analyse this information on a day to day basis and give the feedback to the various Central ministries and the state governments so that they can align or adapt their policies to the changing scenario on the ground on a real time basis.

DAILY MORNING BRIEFINGS: The head of the State can govern well if he has a basic minimum knowledge and intellect applied in the right direction. Modi must make it a ritual to be briefed every morning for 1-2 hours by expert information advisors on the political, social, economic, business, security, technological, issues at the national/international level. This will help him to gauge the situation correctly and apply the governments resources effectively. These information advisors must read regional newspapers, national and international business, general, scientific, economic, foreign affairs, technological and management magazines and newspapers, say some 30-40 different newspapers and magazines and say 10-15 different general and business news TV channels and they must brief the Prime Minister every morning religiously. Any interesting paras or lines which deserves the PM’s attention must be highlighted and archived. The same applies to TV channel bites.

It would be a good idea if Modi wakes up early and retires to bed early and not keep late nights. The key is not to work hard and long but to delegate intelligently and work smart and efficiently.