Analysis: Do you hear me, Mr Modi?

My dear Narendrabhai:

Firstly, many, many congratulations on your famous victory in Gujarat.

Elections are often only about the end result, the means do not matter, only the ends do. Let's be honest. You ran a strategically brilliant campaign, one that was based on whipping up public emotion and stirring a religious identity. I still remember the classic ad that you ran on voting day.

The Congress party's campaign ad was a long sermon by Shankarsinh Vaghela on the development of Gujarat, written in small type, and with very little that we hadn't heard of in the last 55 years. Your ad was simple and direct. In bold type, you just reminded the reader of the old Haqueeqat classic, "Ae mere Vatan ke Logon" and asked the voter of Gujarat to treat their franchise as a homage to the dead. No specific mention of Godhra or Akshardham, as per Election Commission rules, but a clear recall of recent events. Little wonder then that the next ad club function should honour you and your faithful ally Arun Jaitley with the copywriter of the year award.

I also remember your campaign pitch on the last day of campaigning. While a complacent Congress party was relishing the concept of cashing in on the anti-incumbency mood, you were waving a news item that you claimed was a fatwa asking the Muslims of Gujarat to vote 100 per cent for the Congress. Of course, you didn't have to tell the voter the entire truth: that there was no real fatwa, that all that had happened was that some unknown Muslim cleric in faraway Uttar Pradesh had issued an appeal to voters to support the Congress party, and that the advertisement in Gujarati newspapers had been inserted by members of the Sangh Parivar. The fatwa worked, and you were able to ensure that Hindus came out in large numbers to vote for you and your party.

I will also not forget the manner in which you were able to successfully use the demonisation of Musharraf as a vote-gathering technique. You were able to translate anti-Pakistani sentiment into a potent state election issue. What Musharraf had to do with the Gujarat elections is unclear, but somehow you were able to convince the voter that Islamabad was monitoring every move in Gandhinagar. "If I win, the entire country will celebrate, if the Congress party wins, crackers will be burst in Pakistan." It was yet another classic one-liner, designed to stir the kind of jingoism that may not end the low-intensity conflict on the border, but will certainly add to your unique brand of macho politics.

I must also commend you on how you were able to redefine the entire concept of Gujarati Gaurav or pride. Until now, we thought that a state's self-image was defined by notions of peace, communal amity, economic progress and social development. But you were able to convince the Gujarati voter that the state was a victim of a vilification campaign, that anyone who tried to raise uncomfortable questions about the post-Godhra violence was an anti-national, pseudo- secularist who should be hanged by the people of Gujarat.

As a representative of the English language media in particular, I admired the manner in which you were able to blame the media for virtually everything that had gone wrong in the state, from the killing of innocents on the Sabarmati Express, to the loot and mass murders that followed to the large-scale exodus of Muslim families from their homes.

Let me also say that I will never forget the manner in which you were able to use the Godhra incident for political benefit for months on end, and suggest that somehow all Muslims in the state were linked to an act of villainy by a group of criminals from the minority community. I distinctly remember how you had posters put up all over the state of the burning train compartment. I also remember how you got a family member of one of the Godhra victims to be present at the inauguration of your party office. I remember your yatra to Godhra where you shared the anguish of the people who had lost their loved ones in the train tragedy. Somehow, I don't recall you ever reaching out to those living in the Shah Alam camp, or Naroda Patiya or the numerous other refugee camps in the state. Nor did I ever see you in the company of Muslim children who saw their entire families being burnt alive before their eyes.

I must also admire the manner in which you were able to use the Vishwa Hindu Parishad cadres in the political campaign. Until now, we were always told that the VHP was a socio-cultural organisation that had little to do with day-to-day politics. You made sure that the VHP fiction was buried once and for all, and that Praveen Togadia was transformed from cancer surgeon to a political rabble-rouser.

The strategic alliance that you struck with the VHP ensured that you could eat your cake and have it too. Whenever you found yourself under pressure from any constitutional authority, you quickly passed the baton to the VHP. Then, whether it was the post-Godhra rioting, vitriolic Muslim-bashing, abusing Lyngdoh or assaulting the media, you always had the VHP as your accomplice, ensuring that the line between the mob and the government was totally erased.

Finally, I must salute you for the way you stood up to virtually anyone who questioned the politics of 'Moditva'. I remember how you defied the entire RSS establishment when they wanted to give an election ticket to your rival Haren Pandya, and even got yourself admitted to hospital as mark of protest. But most of all, I will not forget how you even put the prime minister in his place.

When Mr Vajpayee asked you to follow the 'Raj Dharma', you quietly listened to him, and then went about doing your own thing. A weakened Vajpayee was reduced to being your self-appointed advocate by the end of the elections. Indeed, in the last few election meetings, I didn't even see a single poster of Vajpayee or even of the original Hindutva mascot, L.K. Advani. This victory then is yours and yours alone.

While you celebrate your triumph, may I leave you with a final thought?

Now, that you've won the battle, will you win the war? Could you become the chief minister of each and every one of the five crore Gujaratis, Hindus and Muslims, you now claim to represent? You could perhaps start with paying a weekly visit to the homes of those who still live in fear and despair. It may not fit in with your worldview, but it would at least convince some of us that Gujarat's Chote Sardar is more than just a hero of hatred.

Affectionately yours,
Rajdeep Sardesai.

The writer is Political Editor, New Delhi Television.