Narendra Modi swerves to modernity: New avatar poses a bigger threat to Congress

There are still a number of steep climbs and sharp curves that Narendra Modi has to negotiate before he comes within sniffing distance of his destination. That includes, above all, ongoing court cases and unfinished investigations related to the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. Apart from B S Yeddyurappa, his potential allies — whose numbers might be decisive to form the next government — have kept their counsel to themselves. The challenge he faces — how to retain BJP's core Hindutva constituency and, at the same time, win over those non- or anti-Congress forces that are beyond its ambit — remains a formidable one.

What is significant though is that bit by calibrated bit Modi has begun to address the challenge in right earnest. Take, for instance, his remark, made at a gathering of students in Delhi, that the country needs more toilets than temples. To buttress his plea he cited the example not of a Hindutva icon but that of Mahatma Gandhi. He knew that he would get the goat of Hindutva hardliners with this remark. They had reviled Jairam Ramesh who had made a similar remark earlier. This time was no different. Praveen Togadia of VHP branded Modi a renegade.

Consider also his pointed refusal so far to make any reference to the construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya. That will be a litmus test of the genuineness of his shift away from contentious issues. His record isn't quite promising on this score.

One day he taunts Congress for asking the Archaeological Survey of India to excavate a site near an ancient temple in Uttar Pradesh in search of a vast amount of gold — an initiative allegedly taken on the basis of a holy man's dream. That made some people wonder if Modi was displaying sly traits of Nehruvian modernity while Congress, which had justified the digging, appeared to be reneging on its commitment to promote a 'scientific temper' in the country. The sense of wonder vanished into thin air when he delivered barely three days later what in effect was tantamount to a cringing apology to the holy man.

Modi has also sought to reach out to Muslims, though yet again in awkward fits and starts. Distribution of skullcaps and burqas to Muslim men and women who attend his rallies is a coarse attempt to win them over. But his opponents would be deluding themselves if they do not take two factors into account. One, BJP's prime ministerial candidate, despite his stubborn unwillingness to come clean on the 2002 riots, hasn't as of now made a single statement that can be construed as an expression of his RSS-inspired hatred of Muslims. And two, influential sections of the Muslim community have begun giving him the benefit of doubt.