End of legacy-bound politics?

WHEN in Bangladesh election to change a government has become a casualty of political parties' greed for staying in power indefinitely by fair means or foul, and when the institution of Election Commission has lost its independence and credibility, our next-door neighbour, India, has gone smoothly through another electoral exercise for the 16th time in its history. Considering the outcome, it was earth-shattering in that it dealt a crushing blow to the ruling Indian National Congress, the party that holds the proud legacy of being the one that brought the country's independence. What is more, it is also the party that the founding fathers of modern India had built and worked for imbued with the ideals of secular nationalism. But so far as legacy is concerned, the victor, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has nothing to write home about. Worse still, the politics and ideology it vouches for is non-inclusive, revivalist Hindu nationalism. Even so, Indian electorate has given an unprecedented mandate to this party to rule India for the next five years.  
However, the leadership of the losing party, the Congress, remaining true to their democratic tradition, conceded defeat and bowed out of office respecting the fact that the election result was the verdict of the people. Congress President Sonia Gandhi accepted responsibility for her party's worst ever performance in its history. But even in the face of such debacle, she did not hesitate to congratulate Narendra Modi, the winner, on his success. It's a shining example of how democracy works.
What would be the reaction of any of our major political parties in a similar situation of electoral reversal? The patent response would be one of instant rejection of the election result with allegation of massive rigging against the winner and of blaming the Election Commission for its complicity in the rigging in favour of the winning party. The sad irony is we are yet to learn the spirit of elections and to consider a political rival not as an enemy, but as a partner whose existence is indispensable for a healthy democracy.   
Now that the Indian electorate have expressed their will and choice about whose turn it should be now to govern India, political analysts everywhere are scratching their heads over what propelled the Indians to make this particular choice.
Despite his tainted past as the Gujarat chief minister under whose  watch (Modi, however, has denied his involvement and officially nothing could be proved so far against him) over a thousand members of the minority Muslim community were massacred in the infamous 'Gujarat  riot' of 2002, one wonders why the  Indian people have put so much trust in this man. Have the Indian public lost their faith in the high ideals of inclusiveness and secularism that the Congress and its leadership stood for? What did BJP or Modi promise to the Indian public, or what was so appealing about him that Congress or its leadership were wanting in, and miserably at that?
BJP's Narendra Modi was not talking about lofty ideals, neither was he burdened with the baggage of past legacies that Congress was. On the other hand, mired in corruption, presiding over a poorly performing economy afflicted with governance inertia, thanks to the slothful bureaucratic juggernaut, the Congress-led United People's Alliance (UPA) government had already overstayed its welcome. People were desperately looking for an alternative, a radical change in the leadership. Even the Congress's candidate, the charming, youthful Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the celebrated political dynasty of India, could not impress the voting public's mind. So, the Congress's fate was sealed. The public was looking for a new face and Narendra Modi just came in handy to fill in the gap.
Modi's positive sides were that he was promising development for the economy and jobs for the unemployed. Naturally, along with the rest, he caught the imagination of the 10 million new voters, too. But more than the promises he has made to the people, or for the personal charms, if he has any, the single most powerful factor that has catapulted him to the peak is the negative, anti-incumbency mood of the voters. The style of the pro-Modi campaign had also a lot to do. The Rashtriya Swaymsebak Sangh, (RSS), the cadre-based ultra right-wing Hindu nationalist religious group that was behind this campaign, has worked to build Modi's larger than life image. No doubt, it helped him achieve a landslide victory.
By electing Modi, the Indian people have rejected the legacy-bound politics with an emphatic 'no.' Perhaps, it was necessary. But by extending their overwhelming support to Modi and through him to BJP, they have also unwittingly endorsed BJP's ultra-nationalist agenda. Only time will tell, if the Indian public have made the right choice this time.

The writer is Editor, Science & Life, The Daily Star.
E-mail: sfalim.ds@gmail.com