“They may not spare me. They may ruin me because their loot of 70 years is in trouble, but it does not bother me,” Modi said in a national speech in which he attacked his critics as corrupt. “I promise, I will give you the India of your dreams.”
Eight years on, Modi is again on the back foot after a humbling election result June 4 forced him to form a coalition government for the first time in his career. But Modi’s imperious and unapologetic leadership style — the hallmark of one of the most powerful prime ministers in Indian history — will probably persist, those who have observed him say.
Shortly after he was sworn in for a third term last Sunday, “Modi reasserted his authority,” said Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, an author who interviewed the then-Gujarat state leader for a 2013 biography. “He is not somebody who expresses regret or says I’m sorry. It is in a situation of complete control when he is most happy.”
Last week, Modi unveiled a new government that signaled continuity, not change. He included newcomers from his coalition partners, but the key portfolios of defense, finance and foreign affairs were all retained by loyalists from his Bharatiya Janata Party. He did not include a Muslim, a minority he has long demonized, in a 71-member council of ministers that was otherwise diverse in geographic origin and caste.
In Parliament, Modi will continue to exercise significant power, even though he will govern alongside two coalition partners, Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, the respective leaders of Andhra Pradesh and Bihar states. While both Naidu and Kumar clashed with Modi in the past — Kumar famously compared Modi to Hitler during a falling-out in 2013 — neither has the ambition to challenge Modi in national politics today.
One area that could see potential change is the politics of religious polarization: Naidu and Kumar, who rule states with large Muslim populations, have both defended affirmative action programs for Muslims, which Modi has criticized, and their presence in the government may slow Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda. But if the Indian opposition believes the two state leaders will check Modi’s power, they may be mistaken, analysts say.
“If you can’t pull the government down, what can you do?” said Ruchi Gupta, a founder of the Future of India Foundation who has been affiliated with the opposition Congress party. “You will then bargain for whatever you can get at your own state level.”
There have been some differences since the results were announced. In speeches since the election, Modi has made adjustments in tone, if not in substance. He has made fewer references to himself or to religiously charged issues, but he has still emphasized that Indian voters delivered a clear mandate for him to continue.
“The election campaign was devoid of dignity,” Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief, said in a speech in which he reiterated the importance of respecting the opposition in a democracy. Bhagwat did not name any politicians, but his remarks sparked lively discussions of Modi’s leadership style on television networks that once avoided criticism of the prime minister.
Ratan Sharda, an author and prominent RSS member, said Bhagwat was directing his comments at political leaders from all parties, not only Modi. In the third term, Sharda said, RSS members will continue to voice their views on what the Modi administration should do while giving the BJP the space to set priorities and govern, but he said he was confident that Modi was open to taking outside inputs into consideration.…Read more by Karishma Mehrotra, Gerry Shih
