To Win the 2019 Elections, A Great Leader Like Modi Should Address His Shortcomings too

Campaign management comes naturally to Modi/Shah and they are natural and effective managers in this arena. That they have successfully steered the fortunes of the BJP in the recent assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana which are indeed worthy of note. On the positive side, Modi’s plus points and assets are that he is a quick learner, he moulds himself according to the situation, has shown that he can withstand the barbaric onslaught of the Congress when not in power, can fire up the masses with excitement with his interesting speeches, comes with a track record of governing Gujarat well although he must shed the Gujarat baggage fast and must take on a pan-India appeal and finally that he is a able administrator. 

On the flip side, his shortcomings are easily glaring and he must work to smoothen his rough edges. Every great leader like Modi knows that overcoming one's shortcomings are necessary to take oneself to the next level of greatness. Modi being an extremely intelligent man would take this observation in a gallant stride. Among the chief liabilities his personality carries is that he wants to project himself alone as the supreme authority, he is unwilling to share the glory and media limelight with his ministerial colleagues, he tends to work as a loner and not in a team and finally that he has got to learn to delegate intelligently and allow more leeway to his ministers while giving broad directions on policy and intent. These changes are necessary in his personality because the BJP must make every speech, behavior and action firmly with the intention of winning the next 2019 general elections and must synchronise all its efforts and energies starting today towards this end.

ROBERT VADRA IN THE LIMELIGHT: Robert Vadra’s recent spat with the media in which he exhibited brusque behavior with a Times Now reporter on being asked about his alleged inappropriate land deals and the subsequent defensive guard offered by the senior Congress leaders is reflective of the way the Congress functions. Congress cannot accuse the BJP of persecuting Robert Vadra because till now the BJP has done nothing of this nature and this is an example of Congress’ guilt of one of their members having done something wrong. Congress high-handedness has been evident in abundant ways when the UPA was in power when they did not even spare the current PM Narendra Modi often threatening him with CBI enquiries. This same attitude was evident when they often arm-twisted the former Dy PM LK Advani with dire consequences and action over the Babri Masjid demolition case. 

It is in the Congress DNA to harass, intimidate and persecute private individuals and public figures of the opposition if they don’t fall in line or do their bidding. But at the same time the BJP must learn from the good qualities of the Congress leaders. For one, the Congress party works in tandem and unison and this is indeed a laudable trait of the party. Second, Congressmen have total and unflinching loyalty and extend full support to their elected leader which ensures total discipline and order. And finally the whole of Congress party comes swiftly to the rescue of a stricken party member and throw their weight behind him if he is in trouble. The BJP must learn from these three qualities of the Congress and the Congressmen.

NEED FOR A NATIONWIDE DISCIPLINE MOVEMENT: PM Modi has indeed made a laudable initiative through the ‘Clean India’ drive. This Clean India drive must extend from the public spaces to an individual’s personal hygiene as well. It is well advised to have penalties and fines varying in amounts but which are not very taxing on the big 20 metros, and 400-500 mid to small cities and towns. This is the only way people will stop spitting or littering public spaces. A clean individual and clean public spaces also make the country look wealthy and well off. Government buildings and offices must be well maintained and should be properly whitewashed and distempered. A ‘DISCIPLINE INDIA’ movement must also be launched to inculcate in the populace the need for discipline in all walks of public and personal life. Indians must be made to be disciplined because this can improve the GDP of the country and bring in order and conformity. This is because ‘discipline achieves what ambition seeks.’

PSYCHOLOGICAL ILLNESS RAMPANT IN INDIA: According to rough estimates, two out of six family members in India are emotionally and psychologically crippled. This is because the family structure in India has become weakened and impaired due to stark contrasts in financial status, extreme poverty, low levels of education, the elders in the family not being well adjusted and mature to guide their young sons and daughters, the growth of nuclear families, the influence of drugs/alcohol, the influence of and influx of riband western customs like pornography, body exposure by women, etc. Five out of 100 Indians also suffer from some form of severe psychiatric illness because of loneliness and no peer/family support. The government should promote and encourage the study of applied psychology, industrial psychology, family counselling and psychiatric studies to meet the growing need and demand of these professionals. Every primary/secondary and higher secondary school, college, institution and corporate organization must have a clinical psychologist for every 400-500 students/workers.

MINISTERS MUST MANAGE BY WALKING AROUND: You get the clear and exact picture of the ground situation if you mingle with the masses and know what the people in your organization are doing and thinking. You should not be cut off from reality but should get a real time picture and update of what's happening in the district, state and centre on a day to day basis. Ministers of different ministries must take a tour of their departments at least once a week, talk to people at the junior and senior level, visit the field, talk to the person at the front, etc. For example the defence minister must periodically visit forward base camps, inland defence establishment, ordnance factories, must be present on important defence celebrations, should take a ride in a tank or a armoured carrier, or firing a LMG/MMG, etc. Similary, the health minister must visit the hospitals on surprise checks, must visit pharmaceutical factories, must visit state health centres and must apprise himself of the real situation.

ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFICATION FOR DEPARTMENTS/MINISTRIES: A true leader is one who lays down systems, processes and models for the future generations so that they find it easier to govern. You should not govern for the short run but should have a longer time frame in mind and frame the systems and processes so that the department or ministry function in a disciplined and orderly way and systems and processes are documented. The government departments, ministries and industrial organisations should go in for ISO 9001:2008 or a appropriate certification created for the purpose. I have worked in a couple of organisations which are ISO 9001:2008 certified and you can see a visible difference. For one, every action and move is made in a orderly and disciplined way and it is easier to firefight too in case of an emergency. There are also some trains of the Indian Railways which are ISO 9001:2008 certified and this reflects on the quality of their service and punctuality, too.

DEDICATED LANES FOR CYCLISTS/PEDESTRIANS: India is mindlessly producing passenger cars. On a rough estimate, some 30-40 car manufacturers must be present in India now and they are churning out passenger cars of various models, shapes and sizes for the aspiring classes. This has led to overcrowding of the roads as our Indian roads were not designed for such large volumes of cars. Instead, car companies in India should focus on producing public transport vehicles of different types, capacities and for different terrains. We must be the world leader in producing public transport vehicles and we must be the largest exporter of these vehicles to all corners of the globe. The mass rapid metro in Delhi is a perfect example of this and offers world-class facilities for commuters. Also all roads are designed in India for high speed trucks and cars and the pedestrian and cyclist is totally ignored. Efforts must be made to make dedicated lanes for cyclists and pedestrians in all roads first starting with the metros and then the larger towns and cities of India.

MIGRATION TO CITIES AND RESERVATIONS: Short sighted planning has flooded our large cities with migrants from all over the country and the large metros are on a expansion drive and will soon become unlivable. Utilities and services are under strain and they are cracking and groaning under the weight of over population. It is important that migration to the 15-20 big metros and cities is regulated and controlled or otherwise this will give rise to crime, ethnic riots, lawlessness etc. It would not be out of place to mention that 60-70 per cent of the facilities, resources, educational seats and jobs, etc  should be reserved for the local population. To enable this, the government should develop 80-100 large towns equally spread in all corners of the country so that they act as counter weights and absorb the migrant population. The government must put a ceiling on how much people a city can support and beyond this migrant population should be diverted to other centres.