The situation needs to be examined in the light of the latest media reports that the electoral fight in Bihar between the opposition’s mahagathbandhan and the BJP has turned tough. There are signs of concern in the BJP camp about polls outcome. To cope with the challenging situation Modi had to address a spate of public rallies not originally planned.

A shocking aspect of the low level of poll campaigns is that top leaders of the contesting parties including Modi and Lalu Yadav are using abusive language against each other. At a public rally Modi described Lalu as “Shaitan”, a remark unbecoming of a leader occupying prime ministerial chair. To save the Modi government from problems it may face if the BJP loses Bihar, the party even resorted to Haryana’s 1970s Aya Rams tactics which had in 1960-1970s destablised governments.

It was perhaps for such a situation that Danny Strong, American actor and film writer, coined his formulation: “Idealism loses to pragmatism when it comes to winning elections”.

Making political predictions is a hazardous task. But the foregoing developments call for an exercise to perceive about the country’s likely future political scenario.

After the Modi-led government’s honeymoon period ended within a short span of few months of coming to power in May 2014, the prime minister and his BJP-led NDA government’s credibility and image have started showing signs of downslide. The main reason for the development is the growing impression that Modi is not only not practising on the home ground what he has been preaching from the foreign platforms but has also failed to fulfill most of his pre-election promises.

During his visits to over two dozen countries within 16 months of assuming power, the feat none of his predecessor prime ministers could perform, he gave calls for delinking terror from religion and for global response to combat international terror. Commendable assertions!

No doubt, Modi has eulogized President Pranab Mukherjee’s sermons on “preserving the core civilisational values of diversity, tolerance and plurality”. But his actions are not in conformity with Mukherjee’s saner advice. Intriguingly he has not said a single word about mixing of religion with politics, the issue which has been the root cause of most politico-religious and governance problems the plural and multi-cultural India has been facing. He perhaps knows that if he pleads against mixing of religion with politics, he will demolish the main plank he, his party and some of its allies have been using for political ascendency.

It is the use of religion by BJP leaders for achieving their political ends which has led to a sharp increase in communal tensions/violence. A recent Home Ministry report said that communal violence in India registered a jump with incidents rising by 24 per cent and related deaths too up by 65 per cent in the first five months of 2015 as compared to corresponding period of last year when the UPA government was in power.

Ironically, it all started with the RSS boss Mohan Bhagwat declaring that India is a Hindu Rashtra. This led to Hindutva protagonists to intensify their attempts not only to communally polarize the Indian polity but their extremist fringe also indulging in terror acts. For instance, some motor mouth members of the Modi cabinet, BJP MPs, MLAs and ‘saadhvis’ started spewing communal venom which led to communal tensions and violence.

It was the vitiated atmosphere thus created that caused the killing of writer Puliyur Murugesan, and rationalists Govind Pansare and Karnataka scholar M.M. Kalburgi by the extremist elements and prompted eminent writer like Nayantara Sahgal and poet Ashok Vajpeyi to return their Sahitya Akadami Awards.

It was also such a poisoned mindset that led to the last week’s lynching of Mohammed Ashfaq in Dadri over rumours that he had stored and consumed beef spread by a mob which included close relatives of a local BJP leader. While calling for maintaining communal harmony Modi did not condemn Mohammed Akhlaq’s killing.

Shedding the Centre’s own responsibility to ensure peace and communal harmony, Rajnath Singh has belatedly asked the states to show “zero tolerance” and “take strictest” action against any attempt to weaken the secular fabric of the nation and/or exploit religious emotions or sentiments”. Isn’t the duty of the Centre to also administratively and politically act to check such incidents ignited by their own party leaders?

The tragic outcome of these developments is that the ruling leadership’s much touted agenda of economic reforms including bringing back millions of crores of black money has fallen flat. The common man’s economic condition has worsened. Institutions of excellence are losing their coveted stature with renowned writers, artists and scholars quitting them.

Power is centralised in Modi’s hands. He has not had any inter-actions with the media perhaps fearing that he would be questioned about his performance and promises. All such signs symbolise a personality’s dictatorial traits. (IPA Service)