"4399 days and many many more to come.
But this milestone is not merely about the number of days in office. It is about the scale of the mandate.
"New India is the world’s largest, loudest, most competitive democracy - with nearly a billion voters, hundreds of political parties, 24x7 media scrutiny, social media warfare, judicial activism, coalition pressures, global headwinds and relentless opposition. To remain electorally relevant through all that is not just longevity. It is repeat legitimacy at civilisational scale"
-- tweets Mahesh Jethmalani
Analysts offer different views too.
It is argued that the virtual "deification of Modi" is the consequence of a crude awakening of many Hindus to their past.
This could be a "haphazard response" to the traumas bequeathed by history, especially the partition of India in 1947. This accommodated the "demands" of Muslim nationalism.
It was greatly pushed by the colonial masters as they wanted to keep India and the Hindus 'weak' and demoralised.
“Why must Hindus bear the burden of secularism?” a voter said furiously in Varanasi in 2019.
It is argued that Christians and Muslims and also Jains and Sikhs are 'originally Hindus' who converted -- the first two being “foreign religions".
No less than RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has asserted this, claiming that all Indians are ideologically Hindu. “All those who are in Bharat [India] today are related to Hindu culture, Hindu ancestors and Hindu land…
Some people have understood this, while some are not implementing it even after understanding it because of their habits and selfishness. Also, some people have either not understood yet or forgotten it,” he said at an event in 2023 in Nagpur.
BJP national vice-president M Chuba Ao, an indigenous Naga Christian leader, agrees. "Christianity has never asked Christians in India not to be patriotic or not to love their own country," he said.
Decrying 'secularism (or Sickularism)' as a suicidal attitude that comes naturally to Hindus, another voter in Bangalore said that “secularism” would result in Hindus being “outbred and ruled over” by Muslims.
From Gujarat to Delhi, from Chief Minister to Prime Minister, PM Modi’s journey has been one uninterrupted public mandate built on governance, nationalism, welfare delivery, infrastructure, cultural confidence and India’s rise on the world stage.
His critics kept waiting for fatigue. India kept renewing its trust. That is the real record. Not that he has served long.
But that he has served long in an era where democracy is larger, noisier, harder, faster and far more unforgiving than ever before. This is not just a political milestone.
"It is the story of a leader who changed not just the grammar of Indian politics, he has changed the tone, punctuation and full stops of India’s engagement with the world," noted Mahesh Jethmalani.
India no longer speaks as a hesitant post-colonial state seeking approval.
It speaks as a civilisational power, a strategic market, a security partner, a technology force and a nation whose consent matters in every serious global conversation.
The refrain from 'Hindu voters', with very few exceptions, has been identical, almost: No one can be cent per cent perfect.
Modi might have failed on some sectors; but he has achieved certain milestones.
One thing more; they would say -- he has at least put Muslims in their place.
Writing about Algerian independence, Raymond Aron called it a “denial of the experience of our century to suppose that men will sacrifice their passions to their interests”.
Modi has perhaps meticulously incited people's passions.
People may try to run this phenomenon down; but others see 'merits' in it.
India is not facing any tragic predicament or an emotional tug of war.
There are challenges. But the Opposition parties face existential crisis. There is no pan-Indian alternative to the BJP or Narendra Modi today.
Activists of the Indian Youth Congress walk under the national tricolor flag during a peace march for communal harmony in New Delhi on March 6, 2020.
ends
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