Modi-Shah 바카라�Jugalbandi바카라� Is The Biggest Story Of 2019 Election Mandate

It바카라�s an epic rerun. The man who is already a metaphor for something superhuman has reduced every­thing before him to a cipher. Like some mythic hero, he turned every weak link into a Teflon-coated asset. But there바카라�s one unmistakable change in the story. The voters saw only 바카라�Modi바카라�, the endless promotionals carried only his face, and it바카라�s surely his visage that trumped the facelessness of the Opposition바카라�but looming over the landscape was also another face, another mind. Chandragupta-­Chanakya is the preferred reference for bhakts. But perhaps that doesn바카라�t express this new chemistry entirely. On May 17, as PM Narendra Modi joined BJP president Amit Shah for the press conference at the party headquarters, he seemed comfortable taking a backseat. 바카라�I am a disciplined soldier; the party president is everything for me,바카라� said Modi.

This raja-mantri duet is clearly a new kind of compound. The latter has, visibly, more executive powers than all the sundry Kautilyas of history, who only ideated, and yet he yields to the first바카라�s primacy. BJP leaders and workers alike are awestruck by the chemistry, so are all the rest. Some call it the 바카라�Jai-Veeru ki jodi바카라�, from the classic movie Sholay바카라�a rare brotherhood built on trust바카라�others ­recall the partnership of Sachin and Sehwag. Whatever your preferred metaphor, the Modi-Shah 바카라�jugalbandi바카라� is ­undoubtedly the biggest story of the ­unprecedented 2019 mandate.

바카라�It바카라�s a package deal바카라�바카라�that바카라�s how Amit Shah had described the winning form­ula to Outlook a couple of years ago, when asked whether it was Modi바카라�s charisma or his strategising that buoyed the party. 바카라�You cannot separate the two,바카라� he said in that interview. Now, increasingly evidently, Modi is according Shah a pride of place beside him. The two came together for the victory rally at the BJP HQ. Modi talked of 바카라�chemistry over arithmetic바카라�. That wasn바카라�t just the party바카라�s social chemistry바카라�transcending caste and identity바카라�but also the one between him and Shah.  Something palpably, ­fatally, absent on the other side.

In fact, Modi and Shah are known to talk to each other every day, sometimes four-five times. This week, they had a four-hour meeting where the duo discussed cabinet formation바카라�who should remain, who should go, who could be the new faces. They have been travelling the country shoulder-to-shoulder after the mandate. Shah accompanied Modi to Varanasi and sat next to him as he performed puja at the Kashi Vishwa­nath temple. Earlier too, during nomination time, Shah was with Modi as he perfor­med the Ganga aarti. Incidentally, it was Shah who had backed the idea of Modi contesting from Varanasi in 2014 to strengthen the party in eastern UP.

바카라�It바카라�s the PM바카라�s way of acknowledging Shah바카라�s role in the victory,바카라� says a senior BJP leader. 바카라�Shah is now a stakeholder. In 2014, he was party general secretary in-charge of UP, so had a limited role. This time, they worked in tandem to exp­and the footprint beyond the Hindi heartland. Now, the partnership is complete. Modi is not treating him as a protégé anymore but as a partner.바카라� Several party leaders now foresee a change of equation between the two where public proclamations (and policymaking) are concerned. According to R. Balashankar, political analyst and member of the BJP바카라�s central committee on training, Shah deserves the credit for quietly and indefatigably building the organisational strength that offered an absolute fallback assurance to Modi. 바카라�He has taken a lot of burden away from Modiji. He can focus completely on administration and good governance,바카라� he adds. Shah also ensured the party바카라�s victory in as many as 80 non-traditional BJP seats, systematically, clinically, and built it around the one thing that seems to work in India: the Modi narrative.

That political security has also created the space for the Modi narrative to upg­rade itself. 바카라�Modi has already indicated more inclusivity and statesmanship in his post-victory speeches. He바카라�s now talking about 바카라�sabka vishwas바카라�, earning the trust of minorities­바카라�something this dispensation has never done before. He has promised to take everyone along, to not to be vindictive. If he succeeds, he바카라�ll ensure another term for himself,바카라� says a senior party leader. Balashankar too says it바카라�s time for Modi to write his legacy and that India will see a more mature, more self-assured Modi. 바카라�With this win, he has ensured his place in history. He is more experienced now and knows Delhi and the way it functions quite well. The narratives that were built up바카라�people complaining about demonetisation, farmers바카라� distress and jobs바카라�have all been shattered with people across sections voting for him. Modi has nothing to fear. By all accounts, he will be more inclusive, as he has the assurance that the party is here to stay, like the Congress of the 1960s,바카라� says the former editor of RSS mouthpiece Organiser.

The Shah factor is integral to this. 바카라�As a team, this might be the one of the most ideal and unique partnerships India has ever seen. There has not been a single instance of dichotomy or clash of interests. Shah enjoys complete freedom in party affairs. Modi was lucky to have such a capable strategist and an able party chief,바카라� says Balashankar. Another party leader concurs that Modi will surely be more of a statesman than a rabble-rouser now. However, he cautions, the party바카라�s core would want him to be combative and continue in the vein he campaig­ned in. Any softening will be seen as a weakness and yielding to the Oppo­sition. This is where the duopoly바카라�s real strength may lie in government.

바카라�This is where Shah will have to step in. As the perfect foil, Shah will conti­nue with his near-ruthless agenda of filling in the saffron gaps in the country. While Modi may try to soften his image, Shah will be relentless in pursuit of his goal that includes breaching the South India barrier. The Chanakya that he is, he won바카라�t stop deploying the 바카라�saam-daam-dand-bhed바카라� formula. One can바카라�t imagine a soft Shah, who doesn바카라�t talk about termites,바카라� the leader adds with a smile. Despite his Hindutva past, Modi has range. Shah바카라�s presence allows him to be tactically mobile.

But, to be sure, Shah too has evolved. Once considered autocratic and blunt, he now evinces all the sagacity and flexibility ­required in realpolitik. Unlike the Congress with its potential allies, he yielded to the JD(U) and the Shiv Sena during seat-sharing talks; both paid off. He meticulously plots the moves on the chessboard in tandem with Modi바카라�s ambitions. 바카라�Modi dreams and Shah makes it happen,바카라� is how a senior BJP leader describes it.

It바카라�s been like that for nearly four decades. Shah was 17 when he met Modi at an RSS shakha at Ahmeda­bad바카라�s Naranpura for the first time. Modi was a pracharak, in-charge of youth affairs in the state, and Shah was an ABVP activist. Modi saw a spark in Shah, and that bond has only grown since. Modi taps into Shah바카라�s ­razor-sharp strategising and ­ingenious execution. Shah works with single-minded determination and ­loyalty. They together broke the Congress stranglehold over Gujarat, and have now done the same in almost the entire country.

바카라�There바카라�s an implicit trust. They have the same goal, of seeing a saffron India,바카라� says a senior party leader from Gujarat, who has seen the two from close quarters over the decades. That it was a 바카라�duet바카라� also helped in the perfect coordination between party and government, a factor palpably missing in the Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh regimes. 바카라�Differences바카라�, 바카라�working at cross-purposes바카라�, those were the ­frequent descriptors. Here, Shah can ask any minister to campaign, hold press interactions and public meetings ­during polls. It is believed to be on Shah바카라�s suggestion that Modi ­visited the BJP office for party ­meetings so that the image of coordination was emphasised.

A man with the avowed aim of ­having the BJP rule from 바카라�panchayat to Parliament바카라�, Shah has built up his party into a formidable machine after he took charge in July 2014. The Northeast, Odisha, West Bengal, Kerala...there바카라�s nothing ad-hoc about the expansionist drive. The campaign trail reflects the Modi-Shah synergy. The latter convinces the PM on ­holding more rallies in states where the BJP바카라�s prospects are weak. Before every rally, he briefs the PM about the constituency and gives him talking points. 바카라�He바카라�s usually correct as his analysis is based on solid ground ­reports, not just surveys. Shah isn바카라�t ­sitting in his AC office playing with data. He바카라�s out there in the field, interacting with the rank and file, meeting people across sections,바카라� says a party general secretary.

The party also helped in outreach. In the run-up to GST, Shah was in touch with all BJP CMs to ensure smooth implementation. Party cadres 바카라�spread awareness바카라� about how it would clear away a lot of cobwebs that hold back Indian economy. Even with DeMo, it was the party that carried the narrative on how the corrupt had been made to suffer, giving a compensatory story to the common man. That conduit role also came to the fore with welfare schemes. Party workers not only spread the word on the ground, but took feedback. In the run-up to elections, they identified the beneficiaries and won them over to the BJP. Modi was the hologram in outer space, Shah was the last mile connectivity.