Narendra Modi will probably be at the forefront of world leaders in elevating their political image through excellent marketing strategies. Modi is always vigilant to polish and enhance his image whenever the opportunity arises inside the country or abroad. The cover of Shashi Tharoor’s book ‘The Paradoxical Prime Minister’ is the best visual description of the political leader. There is nothing better than a picture of Modi staring at his statue, touching it, or smoothing over an unseen wrinkle.
No other Prime Minister or political leader in independent India has participated in so many photo sessions as part of his marketing strategy. As for Modi, who meditates in a cave and looks at a file while sitting in front of a peacock, appears in photos in various guises and the trolls that follow do not affect him in any way. With each of these photo sessions, he is increasing the support of his fans manifold. In democracies, it is rare for a leader to wear a coat emblazoned with his own name in small letters and dare to appear at an important event of international significance. It is doubtful that there is another leader in contemporary world politics who is so “narcissistic”. Maybe Donald Trump is the only world leader who could be a notch above Mr. Modi in certain areas.
Modi will turn 70 on September 17. It is this old man who is constantly appearing in the media, refining and reinventing himself in costume, form and appearance by capturing the self-love that even young people hesitate to express these days. Our Prime Minister gives a look of subtlety that even celebrities have failed to completely master, even in photo sessions and in public.
There is no other leader in Indian politics today that can influence the people like Mr. Modi. Even in the BJP, other leaders lag far behind Modi in terms of popular support. No other head of state in the world has ever received trolls like Prime Minister Modi, who posed for a photo with books folded upside down and read a newspaper in front of a laptop next to flamingos. But Modi gets twice as much adoration and praise from his fans through the same photos. This is what makes Modi the Paradoxical Prime Minister or Prime Minister of Paradoxes. What seems ridiculous to rivals is a paradox that thrills fans. Just like the movies of superstars that are thought to be a super hit by fans when at the same time people with common sense find it ridiculous.
It is this self-cultivated image, which is at once empty and at the same time extremely popular, that the Congress, among others, is trying to fight and defeat. But leaders need leaders to replace them. The leader Modi was formed not only by the BJP’s entrenched party system. The BJP is more indebted to Modi than he owes it to the party. The BJP was able to return to power in 2014 due to Modi’s charisma. The party retained power in 2019 only because of Modi’s strong influence.
It is quite unfortunate that the Opposition has to take on such a charismatic leader today. It is necessary that a visionary leader should emerge among the Opposition parties to overcome that charismas. Revolutionaries like Jayaprakash Narayanan were in the opposition to give a constant headache for Indira Gandhi, who was so authoritarian that she did not hesitate to declare a state of emergency. But there is no leader in the Opposition today who is capable of hurting Modi. That is not the misfortune only of the opposition; It is also the misfortune of modern Indian democracy.
