10 Reasons Why Modi Should Follow In Sonia's Footsteps

Politely decline to be prime minister, and hand the baton to someone else in the BJP -- like Sonia did to Manmohan Singh -- advises Krishna Prasad.

Now that Narendra Damodardas Modi has been 'elected' leader of the National Democratic Alliance and addressed the NDA parliamentary party to the choreographed cries of 'Modi, Modi, Modi', he should do what Sonia Gandhi did in 2004.

Politely decline to be prime minister, and hand the baton to someone else in the BJP -- like Sonia did to Manmohan Singh.

Repeat, politely decline to be prime minister, and hand the baton to someone else in the BJP -- like Sonia did, to Manmohan Singh.

Of course, he won't.

There is too much ego, too much pride, too much arrogance, too much self-esteem.

And, there are too many hot cakes in the oven -- Adani, Ambani, China, Covid, DeMo, Electoral Bonds, exit polls, Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Pegasus, PM Cares, Rafale, Ramdev, Vedanta, Vijay Mallya alphabetically speaking -- that can burn.

Plus, there is that indescribably divine feeling that God (obviously a Hindu one, and a male) has only sent him and him alone to beat Jawaharlal Nehru's record of three terms as PM and no one else is qualified to rewrite his Wiki entry to send to the Guinness folk, except his minions at IT Cell.

Apres moi, le deluge.

Or, મારા પછી પ્રલય (Deluge after me).

Moreover, having surrounded himself with chamchas and chamchis whose IQ can be measured on the Richter Scale, it is unlikely anyone would counsel Modi to not go for a third serving.

After all, they have EMIs to pay, even if it is by using UPI.

Still, when he presses the remote control to switch off the electric products tonight, Vishwa Guru-turned-Vishwa Mitra-turned-Vishwa Bandhu should ask himself a simple question: Is he really cut out for this new role?

Repeat, is he really cut out for it?

As the first Twitter handle in the world to ask 'Will Narendra Modi be PM?' in 2007, permit yours truly to say he is not.

And here are ten reasons why:

1. He is a loner as leader. He has no record of working alongside or collaborating with partners either in Gujarat or Delhi. Except maybe his image consultants.
2. His new partners are not the rootless wonders he prefers as ministers (like Ashwini and Jai and Nirmala; they experienced grassroots politicians. They know how to squeeze, how to extract. They also know how to serve.
3. He does not have the skills to consult, discuss, negotiate, compromise. Nor has he demonstrated any of those skills at any time in these 10 years. He doesn't how to accept defeat and retreat. Example: Farm laws.
4. He is not used to give-and-take that is crucial to keeping everybody happy in a coalition arrangement. It might surprise his devotees, he is not Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Ask Nitin Gadkari.
5. He is comfortable with yes men; he is not used to facing questions. He is certainly not used to hearing a 'no' or a 'nahi' from colleagues. Remember: 'Is aadmi ko kya takleef hai, bhai?'
6. He is incapable of facing dissent and rejection in a crowded room. Not in a press conference, certainly not in Parliament, where minus his fantasy of 400, fire will now be met with fire.
7. He cannot share space (or limelight) with others, least of all those from rival parties who are partners. What if Nitish babu or Chandrababu ask why he alone should host 'Mann ki Baat'? Or, why their photos should not appear in advertisements and hoardings?
8. He can no longer control the flow of information that is so crucial to his image. Ministers were asked to deposit their mobile phones before the Cabinet meeting ahead of demonetisation in 2016 to prevent news from leaking out. It is unthinkable in a coalition setup.
9. His unilateral, top-down decision-making style will be hampered by the periodic tugs and pulls of non-BJP elected representatives who have ideas of their own, perhaps better ones, and constituents to pander to.
10. He cannot have his 'legacy', or what he thinks is his legacy, built over 10 years, sullied or ruined by the premature collapse of his government. After all, Nehru did 17 years as PM, and he is never going to match that.

Of course, it is impossible that these thoughts would not have crossed Narendra Modi's mind since June 4.

But it is unlikely he would have found it in him to listen to his 'inner voice' as Sonia Gandhi did 20 years ago.

Unless, his alma mater, the RSS, makes him hear it as they did L K Advani.

All those who think he is a miracle man who will magically reinvent himself when coalition push comes to shove haven't clearly heard Maneka Gandhi's favourite proverb, that you cannot teach an ageing Husky new tricks.

• India Votes 2024

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com