For PM Modi’s Icon, Dissent Had Little Meaning in A Democracy
The QuintThat Wednesday was no ordinary day in the life of Narendra Modi. On 25 September 2013, he had been declared the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Prime Ministerial candidate, after tiding over his differences with party veteran, Lal Krishna Advani. Eventually, the one-time strongman and senior leader of the party was persuaded to join Narendra Modi in Bhopal to address a public rally at noon. After the trio of Advani, Rajnath Singh, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan had finished with their speeches, Modi took centre stage to address a delirious audience. After going past a major part of his speech, Modi reminded people of what Syama Prasad Mookerjee, the founding president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh had once said about his colleague, ‘Give me two Deendayals, and I will completely change the face of the nation.’1 Modi had then added prophetically, ‘When the country shall celebrate Deendayal Upadhyaya ji’s birth centenary in 2015–16, the BJP will rule in most states in the country.’