Madrid : Undoubtedly, Narendra Modi is the man of the moment. Celebrated writer on Hindu nationalism Eva Borreguero in her article titled “The death of a dynasty, the birth of a leader” in the leading Spanish newspaper El Pais, writes that Narendra Modi’s victory has been significant in many ways, reports IANS.
Most prominently, it has “radically changed the political arena historically dominated by the Gandhi dynasty”, that started with Nehru and is currently represented by his great grandson, Rahul Gandhi, she writes.
The expert points out how this election campaign has seen Gandhi pale into insignificance against “the charismatic figure of the nationalist BJP leader who has to his credit the successful transformation of Gujarat” but who also bears the cross of the anti-Muslim riots of 2002 in the state.
Borreguero, a professor of political science in the Complutense University of Madrid, says that Modi’s victory is “a reflection of how the Indian society has changed during the last decade in an environment of high rates of economic growth”.
The rise of the middle class and particularly the consumerist values it endorses, she believes, has become the glue that puts together the diverse interests of the Indian society, thus overriding caste and regional loyalties that have divided the mandate since 1989. In the eyes of this rising class, “it is Modi who will tackle the huge problems of endemic corruption… and poor governance.”
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