A growing perception among people of Odisha that Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi carries an ascetic and fatherly personality, perception that he represents an authentic Hindu civilizational identity, his regular and emotional connectivity with people, his low class profile along with perceptions that he is committed to the development of nation as well as his ability to take tough decisions against enemies and his evolving global image in sharp contrast to the Biju Janata Dal’s leader as well as ex-Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s dependence on a bureaucrat belonging to another state in decision-making, his aloofness from the public domain, the perception that his party has mishandled the Jagannath Parikrama Project associated with culture and emotions of people, his inability to speak Odia even after 25 years of his rule and Modi’s success in engendering a perception of corruption associated with the BJD over the loss of the keys of Ratna Bhandar (Storehouse where all jewellery of Lord Jagannath have been kept) and underdevelopment of Odisha despite abundance of natural resources helped the BJP achieve an unexpected electoral victory in Odisha.
Introduction
In 2024 General Elections, the BJP’s identity politics was more successfully formulated and delivered in Odisha – an Indian state than anywhere else. It prevented ex-Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) from forming government for a record sixth consecutive term. While the BJP government under Modi’s leadership has delivered more on identity politics since 2019 with the scrapping of article 370, enactment of Citizenship Amendment Act (2019), construction of Ram Mandir, its performances on economic indicators have not been impressive which primarily played a role in reducing the BJP’s performance in 2024 General Elections in many parts of India. However, perceptions on Modi’s image in contrast to that of Naveen played a critical role in the regional politics of Odisha. It was not the perception of people towards the contesting candidate of their respective constituency that mattered more rather Modi’s active election campaigning in the state turned the 2024 general elections into a personality and image war between him and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik.
The BJP under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership has been able to project symbols, images, messages and values associated with Hindu culture as part of larger India’s national and civilizational identity with greater success. It has been able to suitably combine the modern norms of equality, dignity and justice with the primordial identity markers. Modi during his election campaigns in Odisha took assiduous efforts to interlink these two dynamics. While he proclaimed Odisha as a land of Lord Jagannath and bestowed with abundant natural resources, on the other hand, he lamented the land being inhabited by poor people. A survey conducted in the Jagatsinghpur headquarter areas by students of Swami Vivekananda Memorial College revealed certain perceptions prevailing among people as regards Modi’s personality that contributed to the success of the BJP in securing majority of seats in the Assembly (78 out of 147) as well as winning 20 seats out of 21 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 General Elections. Modi’s ascetic and fatherly personality, perception that he represents an authentic Hindu civilizational identity, his regular and emotional connectivity with people, his low class profile, and perceptions that he is committed to the development of nation and he is able to take tough decisions against enemies and his evolving global image are among the primary factors driving a majority faction of people’s perception pertaining to the success of his party. In contrast, ex-Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s disconnection from masses, his dependence on a Tamilan, an Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) and former Secretary in his government and who later took voluntary retirement and turned into the Chief Campaigner for BJD, V.K Pandian for management of public relations as well as policy making, a perception that as he cannot speak Odia language and hence cannot uphold Odia culture embedded in Jagannath tradition and his birth into a rich family led to a perception that he could not understand the problems of poor masses at par with Modi. All these factors reduced Naveen’s popularity in comparison with Modi only after the latter led an active political campaign in the state. To lesser extent, some people, nevertheless, associated Modi’s personality with a communal image.
Perception that Modi carries an Ascetic Image
Modi tried to appropriate and internalize a form of eastern masculinity in him which is characterized by spiritual strength derived from self-control over bodily desires. His flamboyant display of abstention from food and practices of yoga and meditation were instrumental to attracting people towards him unlike western masculinity which is based on physical strength.
In order to project himself as a leader who imbibes values embedded in Hindu culture, Modi demonstrated ascetic personality, fatherly gestures and qualities associated with a decisive ruler. This was directed to sway people across castes, creed and gender towards his image. Modi’s ascetic qualities were represented by his self-control and ability to rise above family attachments and work for common masses. He displayed his religious and ascetic nature when he restricted himself to liquid diet during his maiden visit as Prime Minister to the US which overlapped with the Navratri festival in September 2014, when India’s majority community – Hindus worship mother goddess Durga in all her manifestations. This demonstrated his devotion and ascetic personality amid a hectic schedule that included addressing the United Nations General Assembly, a rally of Indian Americans at New York’s Madison Square Garden and talks with Obama in Washington. Similarly, after a decade in 2024, Modi maintained the necessary stamina and endurance to go on a fasting for 11 days prior to Pran Pratishtha in Lord Ram in the newly constructed Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Besides, his ability to rise above family life by leaving his wife and family ties behind along with his active participation in the public domain were portrayed as if he was destined to serve the nation without any desire for private property. His call against corruption during the UPA II government gathered steam primarily because he was personally viewed as man untouched by shadows of corruption.
All these dimensions to Modi’s personality appealed to the people of Odisha who saw grains of truth reflected in Modi’s speeches. In Odisha, identity politics around Lord Jagannath paid rich dividends to the BJP. Modi during his campaigns in Odisha raised the question as to why there was no investigation into the issue of loss of keys of Ratna Bhandar by the Naveen regime. It was promised by Modi that once if the BJP was voted to power it would unleash a process of thorough investigation into the issue. Modi also raised the issue as regards the Naveen’s government failure to allow people hassle-free entry into the Jagannath Temple with its main four gates being closed.
It also highlighted the concerns pertaining to the Jagannath Parikrama Project that was undertaken by the provincial government incurring a mammoth expenditure of Rs. 4200 crores from the state’s exchequer and was mishandled by it leading to dishonouring of Lord Jagannath. As the findings of the survey indicated many people perceived indulgence of ruling party in Odisha in corruption and maintaining deliberate secrecy around the Temple issue.
The identity politics in Odisha was also revolved around taking pride in Odia language, culture and tradition. Here regionalism was presented as a stepping stone to nationalism and hence there was a call for support for the provincial unit of the nationalist party – the BJP. The national leaders campaigned vigorously in the province primarily focusing on the issue how a Tamilan, the Chief Campaigner for Patnaik and his party, Pandian was aspiring to assume and enjoy the real power of the state in place of the aging and ill Chief Minister. The narrative included how Pandian favoured his own province Tamil Nadu while outsourcing contracts, labour and materials. The BJD leader Patnaik’s inability to speak Odia even after 25 years of his rule and his dependence on a person belonging another state undercut his ability to construct identity on a sound regional foundation which was tactically exploited by the BJP.
Modi assured the people of Odisha that the next Chief Minister would be from Odisha who would not only share the common language and culture with the masses, he would work for the development of the state alone. The party following elections appointed Mohan Majhi, representing Odia language and culture as well as a tribal identity as the Chief Minister as a way to resolve two prominent identity concerns within the rubric of Hinduism.
The fact that Modi was born to a family belonging to “backward” caste (OBC) community and his father was a railway station chai-wallah (tea seller) and he also worked as a chai-wallah himself in his youth resonated with the masses of many parts of India including Odisha, in particular his claim that he understood what it is like to live in poverty. So when he raised in his speech as to why Odisha remained poor despite huge potential of natural resources, that certainly touched many. Many people of Odisha saw rays of hope in a strong and stable nation that Modi created among them through his claims that he was committed to improving the lives of all castes and communities and his calls for inclusive development anchored in the slogan in Hindi version ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Biswas’ appealed to many of the state.
Even while the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government under the leadership of Patnaik ran many welfare schemes targeted at poor and women sections of the population and promised to implement many new if voted to power, all these failed to appeal in the face of doubts of corruption as well as misrepresentation and misappropriation of culture that Modi created among people and it is his personality and people’s faith him that converted doubts into tangible votes for his party.
Modi as a Manger of Personal and Psychological Issues
While ex-Chief Minister of Odisha, Patnaik chose to remain aloof from public domain and refrain from direct communication with people mostly during his fifth term presumably because of his illness, interactions in the public domain were left to Pandian-not a people’s representative. On the other side, Modi was perceived to have transcended his political image as people began to believe in him as a fatherly figure who could be their problem-solver even in their social, cultural and religious aspects of lives. His continuous engagements with the public through programmes like Mann ki Baat (literally Heart-Talk) and Pariksha Pe Charcha (Modi’s interaction with students, teachers and parents on the ways to approach examinations from a strong psychological and moral foundation), his presence at religious and spiritual sites have further helped him gain such trust (Narayan, 2024).
It was fresh in memory of people of Odisha as to how Modi through his Mann Ki Baat program launched a nationwide social media campaign for fathers and daughters to take selfies together, and post them on Twitter (now X) as a campaign for the girl child in 2015. These attempts to project himself as a paternal figure point to the political significance of the ‘father figure’ mythology. Bollywood actors like Saif Ali Khan gushed about Modi as a warm paternal figure, and a Gujarati actress even went on to say that “Narendra Modi is a father figure for all” (Kaul, 2017).
Perceptions of Modi being a Decisive Leader
While Patnaik was perceived by many people surveyed as incapable of taking key decisions regarding policy-making whereas he kept outsourcing these to Pandian, Modi’s image as a decisive and efficient leader had been established since his stint as the Chief Minister of Gujarat where the economic model presented quick decision-making and ease of doing business along with good governance. Quickly following his assumption of power in 2014, Modi allowed the ministries to decide directly on policy matters and if they faced any difficulties, it was decided that the cabinet secretariat and Prime Minister’s office would step in. Modi’s abrupt demonetization strategy although failed to uproot corruption engendered a perception that it is Modi who can only take surprisingly bold and quick decisions. The abrogation of Article 370 and integration of the province of Jammu and Kashmir as a union territory also corroborated such perceptions. The unexpected surgical strike launched on the Pakistani side of the border during Modi’s regime also fed into the narrative that it is he who can put the threat of cross-border terrorism at bay.
Modi has been able to engender a perception that government under his leadership can effectively counter the aggressive behaviour of these countries by engaging in tough military projection of power. India’s tough military posture during the Doklam standoff with China forcing the latter to withdraw from construction activities and its successful surgical strike on Pakistani soil under his leadership strengthened such perceptions among many Indians. While less number of Indians would like to know about greater details of India’s foreign policy, they take note of the country’s foreign policy measures during critical junctures especially vis-a-vis Pakistan and China. Many people surveyed believed it is Modi who can engage in a tit-for-tat situation in the international milieu. This was also projected in the CSDS Lokniti Survey data many Indians gave credit to Prime Minister Modi for the Balakot air strikes, and among them a very large majority wanted Modi to continue as the Prime Minister and therefore voted for the BJP in the 2019 elections (Kumar, 2020).
Modi’s Global Image
Modi’s evolving image as a global leader also appealed to the local masses. The way he represented India in various international platforms and the way he spoke with his oratory skills enchanted the local masses of Odisha as well. Once Modi chose to invigorate his political campaign in the state, these qualities were more appreciated and found favour with the public of Odisha. As the Non-Alignment foreign policy of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru which provided India with a distinctive identity in the global platforms became irrelevant with the end of the Cold War, it is Modi in people’s perception who successfully projected the country with a civilizational identity. Modi argues that India needs to become a Vishwaguru as ordained by its rich civilizational resources.
According to Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the current External Affairs Minister this implies India’s desire for a ‘leading power’ status in contemporary international relations—a power equipped with a clear vision of how international affairs ought to be organized, not merely a power that accepts (Hall, 2017).
Similarly, Basudhaiba Kutumbakam, another phrase extracted from India’s ancient cultural resources has been successfully utilized by Modi government to bolster ties with significant players in global politics and build collective synergies to address global issues.
These innovative usage of semantics culled from India’s rich cultural heritage along with emphasis on other aspects of the country’s civilizational resources such as Yoga and Ayurveda accompanied by Modi’s unprecedented oratory skills and style of presentation at global platforms and India’s presidency in G-20 and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) under his leadership shaped Modi’s image as a global leader- a perception which was reflected in the views of many people who surveyed by the students.
The BJP sought to combine two elements to forge India’s external identity- in relation to China and Pakistan, it tried to send a message that it cannot tolerate any threat to its territorial integrity and sovereignty but at the larger level it sought to communicate that it firmly believes in Vasudheiba Kutumbakam (world is a family). Its external identity also included the ambition to become Biswa Guru – India needs to lead the world in the spiritual sphere due to repository of vast cultural resources in its rich civilization. All these dimensions to Modi’s foreign policy were highly acclaimed by the people of Odisha who were surveyed (Saleem, 2023).
Conclusion
The BJP under Modi’s leadership attempted to create national and sub-national identities around a host of ideas which included beefing up internal as well as external security through unity, law and order, cultivation of masculine virtues, military preparedness, taking pride in cultural resources and symbols, decimation of corrupt institutions and economic development of all with participation of all and moreover, addressing global issues and concerns by invoking spiritual resources such as Vasudhaiba Kutumbakam, Yoga, Ayurveda whereas India was portrayed as an effective guide (Vishwaguru) in this context. Many of these ideas pertaining to identity politics worked well in the context of Odisha and the BJP won the general elections in the state in 2024 by defeating consecutive five times Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his Party BJD.