By Ruma Dubey

Two people today in the state of Gujarat hold the record of having scored a hat-trick. First is Irfan Pathan who hit a hat-trick in 2006, taking three consecutive wickets when India was playing against Pakistan. India could not have asked for anything better!

And today, in 2012, Narendra Modi hits a hat-trick, becoming a Chief Minister for the third consecutive time and the BJP is ecstatic and as expected, the Congress is pouting and sulking.

The victory of Modi, though widely expected and does not come as any surprise, makes a case for very interesting analysis. Throughout this campaign, based on various reports, on TV and the electronic media, it was very apparent – people either hated Modi or loved him; there was no in-between, chalta hai kind of thinking.  And today’s victory probably proves that there are more who love him than hate.

The best part about the victory of Modi is that unlike other politicians, he did not use freebies and gifts to woo voters; it was purely his performance. He did, all of a sudden, announce pro-poor measures or pro-Muslim policies. His stance remained what it has always been – he is sau-takka pro-industry, he fought this entire election based on development and not to mention, his persona.

Today, he is more than the party, the BJP and that is very evident in his blog,  narendramodi.in, where he said nonchalantly, “In the by lanes of Gujarat’s towns and cities, on the fields of Gujarat, on the coasts of Gujarat, people are taking pride in saying one thing — Hoon toh Modi na manas chu!”  So there is no BJP here and it all only about Modi. And it is this narcissism which has earned him the label of being authoritarian, almost Hitler like. Many complain that development is only in Ahmedabad, the transformation of Sabaramati Riverfront is a showcase. The bijli, paani and sadak which he often spoke about were only in cities as the rest of Gujarat continues to suffer with potholed roads, no water, drought and hunger. He is said to be pro-rich and all development was only for the benefit his rich, industrialist friends. Yes, he is accused of ‘crony capitalism’. Though we have come a long way from Godhra, which is also a shadow that follows him all around. There are some Muslim pockets in the state which have not seen any development, like Juhapura, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad yet lacks basic civic amenities.  Development has bypassed Saurashtra too.

But at the same time, there are people who swear that their lives have changed because of Modi and his development and there are many Muslim voices also amongst these. Many claim employment is better, livelihoods have improved and more importantly, women say they feel more secure. The development of Gujarat has been written and talked about all the time. The way Modi stepped ahead and opened up Sanand for Tata Motors is legendary now. Companies are thriving in Gujarat and many say that things actually move fast in the Govt machinery. There are more companies rushing to set up shop there. The Muslims have not forgotten the Godhra riots; they have not ‘moved on’ but they have certainly started to rebuild their lives. Its uphill but they are trying.

Agreed that Modi has given secular India  a lot to gripe about but how can his story of development, even if it only restricted to cities, every evidently visible. How come Gujarati’s are voting for him will all fervor and he is probably one of the few leaders today, who gets such kind of following, almost reverential loyalty. People have faith in him and that is something which we, non-Gujarati’s do not have in any leader. Faith in a politician in today’s time? Now, that surely means he has got his math right and knows what ticks. People accuse of his PR machinery being over active but how much really can PR help if people do not have economic growth? You can market only that which is there, or else it falls flat as a lie. Yes, Modi has been a smart marketer but why not if he had a report card to market?

People say development in Gujarat is only in the urban areas but 58% of Gujarat is urbanized so what are they talking about when they say rural? And yes there are patches of dry land, even drought in parts of the state as that is the nature of the state but at the same time; Modi has built check-dams that are now transforming Gujarat’s rain-fed agriculture zones.

Well, you can hate him or love him but one canot ignore today the power which Modi has. He is just Modi and today, much bigger than his party, BJP.

This victory of Modi, also once again proves that people do not need freebies and TVs and mixers; what they need is development, economic growth which will push up employment, per capita income and overall growth. Handing out doles to the unemployed and poor makes them a beggar for life but create employment opportunities and you build a thriving, successful nation. Nitesh Kumar, Naveen Patnaik, Sheila Dikshit, Raman Singh have all got the unequivocal mandate of the people because they brought about economic change, brought about development.

Yes, development or capitalism is the winner today in Gujarat and the smart architect has been Modi. Can’t the other politicians read this writing on the wall?