The Man with the Plan

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.