BKC was filled with people. I couldn’t find a spot to park
my car anywhere in the radius of 200 to 300m. Finally I found a spot and walked
down to the venue – MMRDA grounds. Never before had I entered a political
rally. I had always despised all the politicians and I could not dig an iota of
inspiration from any of them. Not until now. I was getting drawn to this
magnetic place which had a different charm. A charm that was full of hope and
optimism that yes we could have a rule where we can focus on development. We
can have a politician who will take pride in speaking about his nation. And his
pride would be so infectious that all our chests would swell by at least few
inches. Most certainly his chest would swell 56 inch while talking about all
the work he has done so far. And the nation rightfully measured it with cheer
and joy. ‘Yes we can finally have a stable govt’ ‘We can after all see a
government formed with more than 200 seats’ He had high hopes of achieving the
magical figure of 272. Although it seemed far-fetched, it seemed too tempting and
hence the nation believed him. Little did anyone know that 272 was not even a piece
of cake for him!
Millions were walking in the direction that I was walking
towards. The ground was made into a fortress by multiple checks and multiple
metal detectors. Not an empty space. From the place where I got a seat, I could
see the 5 storey stage as table and the politicians could be identified only by
their silhouettes and body language. His
name was roaring everywhere. The cheer was louder than what Sachin gets in
Wankhede (please no offence – even I am a Sachin fan). This was the cheer from
all the 1B Indians who were left in utter despise about their own nation. Where
politicians prospered from one scam to another and “Is desh ka kuch nahi ho
sakta” was a daily dinner table line. The
roaring chants of his name came out from that level of frustration. One
politician after the other spoke. Ramdas Kadam, Ramdas Athavle, Uddhav Thakray
etc. Finally the 4 lettered man with whom the nation was about to say the 4
lettered word to the most corrupt rule every seen by this nation, walked to the
podium with the grace of a lion and left people awestruck.
People could read his plans. They could relate to him. They
knew that he is not merely mocking other parties and partying on their
miseries. They knew that he was addressing their miseries. He could clearly lay
down his vision for the next 5 years. “Terrorism distances people while tourism
brings people together” It certainly seems like a catchy line. But he just didn’t
have the line. He had the plan. He has done that before. He had shown what
tourism can do. “Everyone right from a tea vendor to a big 5 star hotel benefits
from tourism.” And the crowd gave a loud cheer on mere reference to the word –
Chai Wala. I was not surprised that a mere chai wala can dream of becoming a
PM. As they say Kichad mein hi kamal
khilta hai. Someone who has lived the life of a poor know what the poor
wants and understands him better. In his speech he must have uttered the word “Juggi
Jhopadi” at least 10 times. Yes it is a branding strategy. In marketing they
call it as a recall factor. But he knows the recall factor. He knows how to
connect to the Aam Aadmi. He has exemplified the maturity to handle a situation
where you are subjected to insults, non-cooperation, and stiff opposition and
yet you manage to pierce all that.
“Mein kehta hun, aaj
hamare railways ke liye university kyon nahi hai?” And I was awestruck at
the revolutionary thought. Railways easily employ 2 lakh employees. What would
be the population of an average college in Mumbai, 5000? 10000? Here we are
ready with 2 lakh employees. Why can’t we train them? “Train them on what” one
would ask. Make better trains, better online systems, better ways to handle
customers, better communications skills so that passengers can be dealt with
more respect. Unfortunately in a country like India, respect is a premium
product. We all crib about railways, the uncleanliness, the messy ticket
booking system, the food served in pantry. Why can’t we train the railway
employees to better themselves? I could see tourism resonating so well in that
speech. He has plans to connect Indians from every village. I won’t be
surprised to see George Clooney in ‘Incredible India’ campaign 5 years down the
line.
When he became PM while sitting on a whopping 333 seats, the
first thing he did was to start ‘Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan’. And he won my heart
once again. Yes he has tourism in him mind. And he knows what stops a foreigner
from coming to the exotic country called India. Apart from setting a culture of
good hygiene, he means business. He knows the return on investment for Swatch
Bharat Abhiyaan is way too much.
Now it has been more than a year since he became PM last
year. But that evening is etched in my memory forever. While leaving, I had a
candid chat with the cops who were standing there for security. They said “Its
9:30 pm and the crowd is still not leaving. Yesterday in Rahul Gandhi’s rally
in same location, by this time even we had reached home.” I turned to my right
watching ‘The Man with the Plan’ leave the stage and the huge mob making its
way out through a huge dust cloud that got took birth by their mere walking.
