People Loved Modi Because Of Gujarat. But Is It The Same Gujarat Today?

Last year in 2014 general elections, it was the Gujarat model that BJP projected to win the elections with clear majority. It was our PM’s Gujarat model that garnered votes in the elections.

Better infrastructure, investment, law and order and good governance, were major attractions for the people outside Gujarat to vote for the Gujarat model of governance. This accompanied by “Modi wave” worked wonders for the current government in defeating a decade long governance of UPA.

Gujarat was projected as the hub for investment with industry friendly norms and speedy approvals, a precursor among job creating states. There were better facilities for the industrialists, the white collar class as well as blue collar class.

The man behind all these pluses was the then Gujarat CM, Shri Narendra Modi; a person with great instincts for governance, a persona of a doer and all the positives that can be acknowledged.

After the elections, Mr Modi got promoted and became the Prime Minister of India. He had to leave his home state and head the country towards progress and development which he has been doing with great vigour and determination since day one.

Eventually, the CM post of Gujarat went to Mrs. Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel, who had proved her credentials as a pro development leader and had headed the Ministry of Education, Higher And Technical Education, Women and child welfare, Sports, youth and cultural activities in 1998-2007 government and as Minister of revenue, disaster management, road and building capital project, and women and child welfare in 2007-2014 government.

What it comes to foreground now is that she is a great leader and has huge experience in government but is not as dynamic a leader as Mr. Modi is. She can take tough decisions and has shown it but the results that were prevalent during Modi’s regime have not been upheld. There may be varied reasons for this but the bottom-line is that Gujarat seems to lose its sheen in comparison to other first world states of India.

In recent past, Andhra Pradesh, an old state whose boundary was truncated and whose heart (Hyderabad) was snatched away from it, is giving tough competition to Gujarat. The first CM of new Andhra Pradesh, Shri Chandrababu Naidu is working day and night to develop his state and bring investment to it. As a result, 15 US companies have assured Rs 5,000 crore investment in Andhra Pradesh, to create 10,000 jobs. [Source]

Xiaomi has tied up with Foxconn to produce smart phones at Sri City near Tada and announced that it would make phones for sale in India with 100 per cent indigenous production within 14 months from its base in Andhra Pradesh. [Source]

Similarly, less than a couple of years old government of Maharashtra, is going all guns blazing to attract investments and create new jobs in the state. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis is also on a spree to bring investment under ‘Make in India’ adjectived with ‘Make in Maharashtra’ promising better industry and investment conditions and faster approvals and clearances.

As a result, the Fadnavis government is on a role of making his state an automobile hub. In response Tata motors, Mahindra and Mahindra and Bajaj Auto have taken this opportunity and have announced investment totalling 10000 Crores. Volkswagen also announced an investment of 1510 Crores in Maharashtra. [Source]

Aircraft giant Boeing has also announced an investment in Maharashtra under PM Modi’s Make in India initiative. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, followed by visits to Germany, Israel, China and the United States to promote the ‘Make in Maharashtra’ mission to complement the Union government’s ‘Make in India’ mission.  Foreign direct investment in Maharashtra has touched Rs 25,000 Crores over the last eight months ending July. [Source]

One of the most developed states of India, Tamil Nadu has joined the party late but has organised the Global Investors Meet a couple of days before. Investment of over Rs One Lakh Crores was committed for Tamil Nadu at a maiden Global Investors Meet. IT major HCL Ltd and ITC pledged investments of $1 billion and Rs 2,500 Crores respectively, at the GIM. [Source]

Mahindra & Mahindra pledged to invest Rs 4,000 Crores in Tamil Nadu. The company has acquired 450 acres land at Cheyyar to set up a new automotive plant. [Source]

These events have increased competition among developed states which Gujarat seems to be losing at present. Moreover a slowdown in the Diamond industry in Surat has hit a rough patch. A number of polishing units are either closed or are on the verge of ceasing production and are currently operating on 50-60% capacity. The current government seems to be unable to find out a way to counter this crisis.

When it comes to law and order in Gujarat, people have experienced no riots since the fateful 2002 Gujarat riots. The law and order conditions were above par in the state. But, the Patel reservation stir last month saw an unprecedented loss to Gujarat exchequer with violent protests and vandalizing of public property. The bandh and disruptions to state mercenary saw huge losses to business in Gujarat. The state government was caught plumb on how to manage the stir and the state was in the national news for all the wrong reasons.

It cannot be said that Mrs. Patel is an inefficient administrator but definitely she is not as capable as Mr. Modi was as a CM. This comparison was certain because the legacy left behind by Mr. Modi will be compared with his successors. It is an unending comparison and the critics will always win. If Mr. Modi’s works in the past are not upheld, his successors will be criticised and if his successors perform better, he will be criticised. But as of now, (it would be a bit cruel to say) it is a bit of relief for Mr. Modi as his performance has not been challenged by another performer in Gujarat.

These events collected together have given the critics a chance to question the Gujarat government which is not able to keep up with the golden investment spree. As of now, it seems that Gujarat is losing its sheen but it would be pleasant if the speculations are proven wrong in recent future.