Journalist and geopolitics expert Farid Zakaria says that at a time when there is turmoil around the world and governments have changed in many countries. In such a situation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has returned to power in India for the third consecutive time. His victory is something of an exception.
In an interview with India Today, Zakaria was asked if governments had changed in countries around the world in the recent past. Voters in the United States, Britain and other countries have completely rejected ruling governments. But why was this not seen in India? On this, Zakaria said that almost all ruling governments in the world have suffered a setback in elections. But Prime Minister Modi is an exception. In India there is a multi-party system that played an important role in Prime Minister Modi’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections.
He said India does not have a two-party political system like the United States. Had there been a two-party system in India, the results might have been different. But in a multiparty system, the anti-governor vote is usually divided between two or three large parties.
He said another important reason for Prime Minister Modi’s continued return to power is his immense popularity and outsider image. Zakaria claimed that Modi’s popularity is immense. Despite all the problems, he has managed to gain the trust of the people and has managed to establish a connection with them.
At the same time, people still see Modi as an outsider. As a person who does not belong to the political class but who has left his mark by coming from outside this class. The success of Prime Minister Modi is that even after being Prime Minister for ten years, he can still be considered an outsider.
‘Prime Minister Modi took the pulse of Hindu pride’
Earlier this year, Zakaria had said that Prime Minister Modi had understood the pulse of Hindu pride among a large section of Indians. He understands the pride that arises in the mind of an ordinary Hindu. The prime minister comes from outside India’s elite class. He is the first non-elitist Prime Minister. If you think about Nehru, the Gandhi family, Narasimha Rao and even Manmohan Singh, they all came from a certain kind of elite background based on their upbringing, but Narendra Modi understands the pulse of a common Hindu.
Zakaria said he wants to use it in a positive way and not to alienate people, he can use it to educate everyone. He has been able to capitalize on the pride of much of India.
