Will it shock or soothe? Modi ready with note ban speech for Dec 31

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation on the New Year eve, the occasion that coincides with expiry of the 50-day period of post-demonetisation pain he had asked people to endure for the sake of the nation.

There is a buzz that Modi would announce sops to assuage the hurt masses and counter the opposition attacks on the post-demonetisation mess.

But Modi might keep the sops announcement for the election rally coming up just days later on January 2 in Lucknow.

In his address to the nation, Modi can make yet another emotional pitch expressing gratitude to the people for their sufferings due to demonetisation and announce some easing of the banking regulations. To position himself firmly as a prime minister who takes hard decisions, he might even detail his next big move—a crackdown on benami property.

The address to the nation is a clever move to counter opposition's charge that Modi never spoke in Parliament on demonetisation.

By speaking directly to the people, he is creating for himself an exclusive rhetorical space where opposition is blanked out and yet it gives a semblance of dialogue.

Modi's strategy is to not let the opposition appear to be the voice of the people. His direct communication with the masses intends to isolate opposition as not 'nation' but just a bunch of politically motivated disrupters. He is effectively bypassing the Parliament with his frequent addresses to the nation.

Modi's direct communication with the masses has worked so far, as people have undergone demonetisation-related troubles with equanimity, trusting him to be taking risky and difficult measures for the greater good.

But banks and ATMs are still short of cash and the queues don't seem to end even as his 50-day period of pain draws to a close. It is to be seen how long people buy Modi's emotional pitch.