‘No book in recent times has done justice to the powerful idea of Modinomics, as much as BJP’s articulate National Spokesperson Sanju Verma’s book has’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has evolved from being a mercurial leader, powerful orator, towering political figure and disruptive innovator, to being a consummate global statesman of international repute. Arguably, no leader of post independent India can match up to Modi’s political acumen, or his ability to translate vision into reality, a fact that has been reiterated time and again,on the hundreds of books written on the Indian Prime Minister. There is no aspect of Modi’s life that has not been dissected threadbare. Yet, the insatiable curiosity around Modi’s persona and his incomparable popularity have never failed to surprise. So where does the latest book on PM Modi and his policies, The Modi Gambit, stand? Well,for starters, this book authored by BJP’s fiery and extremely articulate, National Spokesperson, Sanju Verma, has generated a huge amount of buzz in all the right places, for all the right reasons. Ms Verma, termed a “financial wizard”, during her corporate sector days, with a formidable flair for numbers, has ensured that every factual data that matters and captures the essence of Modinomics, is explained in an easy to comprehend language, for readers. “The Modi Gambit—Decoding Modi 2.0”, talks at length about the various milestones achieved in the last two years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term at the helm. The 1st part of the book has a detailed account of some path breaking reforms like the labour code, banking consolidation, denationalization of coal, asset monetisation, Air India privatization, repeal of retrospective taxation, the PLI scheme,the Gati Shakti master plan, eRUPI, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, massive strides in renewable energy and more. The making of a V-shaped recovery in India in a post pandemic world and how the concept of “Vocal for Local”; has powered the making of Atmanirbhar Bharat,have been brilliantly elucidated in the book. No book in recent times has done justice to the powerful idea of Modinomics, as much as this book has. The content is rich and the sheer amount of data to corroborate every argument, shows the painstaking research that has been done by the author,to put this book together. The second part of the book,is a riveting summary about the unrelenting fight against Covid and ofcourse, the stellar success of the world’s largest vaccination drive under the aegis of PM Modi and his resolute leadership. The poignant moments of the Covid second wave, the challenges and the rabid politicization of the second wave by a decrepit Opposition which promoted vaccine hesitancy,have been analyzed, without mincing any words. Sanju Verma,a firebrand orator herself and one of the most visible faces of the BJP on national television, has an inimitable style that is non-nonsense in its approach. That style comes through with refreshing honesty in this book, too.Modi lovers will love this book and Modi naysayers will hate Sanju Verma’s cheek for saying what she has, because, clearly, the book is not kind to Rahul Gandhi or the fading Congress Party, which is a pale shadow of what it once was. In short, the Opposition has been decimated in this book, but this time it is the might of Ms Verma’s pen that has done so.
The third part of the book deals with the meteoric rise of “Brand Modi”. Besides abrogation of Article 370, the Ram Mandir verdict, banning instant triple talaq, amendments in UAPA, FCRA, the QUAD summit, victories in Bihar and Assam, massive seat-share rise in West Bengal, National Education Policy,the CAA and ofcourse, PM Modi’s big contribution to climate mitigation and climate justice,all these high points of Modi 2.0,have been discussed in great detail,in this section. Why Mamata Banerjee is unfit to be a national leader, why the rise of Narendra Modi is not just about the TINA factor, but more importantly, about his philosophy of Vikasvaad, as compared to the Opposition’s Swaarthvaad and Parivarvaad, make for a very interesting read. One just wishes, this book is published, going forward, in other languages too, so that Modi’s development oriented politics, reaches every nook and cranny of this country. The Coffee table variety socialites, with peripheral knowledge of Indian politics would do well to stay away from this book, as it is serious stuff and not meant for the lightweight. The book deserves at least a rating of 4.5 out of 5, if not more. The extra detailing does not slow down the pace of the narrative and that makes the book, both, very likeable and engrossing.
The Opposition, primarily the Congress Party, ruled India for decades together but even basics like toilets,sanitation facilities, uninterrupted electricity and access to banking facilities,remained a mirage. Besides transforming healthcare via schemes like Ayushman Bharat and bringing banking to the doorstep of virtually every Indian, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s biggest legacy is the incorruptible nature of his government, where tolerance for corruption is zero. Schemes like Jan Dhan,the direct benefit transfer scheme (DBT) and initiatives like PM-Kisan are game changers, facts, that are brilliantly captured in this book.
Turning “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” into a “Jan Andolan”, by helping spread the message that “Cleanliness is next to Godliness”, has been a hugely rewarding journey for Modi and ofcourse, for the nation. PM Modi reflects the essence of his famous Varanasi model in a quote by him, which says “I make changes, not for people to notice; rather, because it is my mission”.
And truly enough,the transformation of Varanasi, in the last seven years, has been nothing but extraordinary. This book, “The Modi Gambit”, lucidly traces the journey from Gujarat Model to Varanasi Model, how both these models converge and how an “India First” approach is essentially at the heart of both these inclusive models.
Interestingly enough,the book also features commentaries by a very limited set of influencers from diverse fields, who share their views on two years of Modi 2.0. The introduction to the book has been written by one of the tallest leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), B.L.Santhosh, who is the National General Secretary (Organization), of the BJP. Foreword has been written by the erudite Mohandas Pai, while the Afterword has been written by ace journalist, Anand Narasimhan, Managing Editor at CNN News 18. The book has some very interesting takes on Modi 2.0 by Padma Shri, Dr Sanjeev Bagai and one of India’s most reputed wealth managers, Porinju Veliyath, who also shares his insights on PM Modi’s path-breaking work. Testimonials for Sanju Verma’s book from Padma Bhushan, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty and Ashish Chauhan,CEO of Bombay Stock Exchange, are worth a read and endorse the exhaustive work done by the author, Sanju Verma, in capturing every mega achievement of Prime Minister Modi’s holistic, governance model. Go, get your copy, you will not be disappointed, as this is perhaps the only book which exhaustively speaks about reforms, the political economy and the fight back against the pandemic, under PM Modi. Most books on Modi deal with only one subject at a time, but Sanju Verma has made a valiant effort to cover just about everything that Modi’s legacy stands for, making this a very well written and unique book, akin to the modern day version of Arthashastra.