Narendra Modi’s makeover and the politics of symbolism

ABSTRACT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has metamorphosed from one of the most divisive figures in Indian politics to one seemingly above partisan politics. The makeover of Modi began during the run-up to the 2014 national election when he avoided the language of Hindutva and mostly focused on development. After becoming prime minister, Modi has consistently worked towards maintaining the image that he assiduously cultivated during the election campaign. The paper analyses the impact of what might be called the politics of ‘symbolism’, both during the 2014 election campaign and Modi’s tenure as prime minister.

KEYWORDS:

• Modi
• BJP
• symbolism
• election
• campaign
• media

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge Sekhar Bandyopadhyay, Director of the New Zealand India Research Institute, for providing the opportunity to present a version of this paper at the institute’s annual conference in Wellington in 2015.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ronojoy Sen

Ronojoy Sen is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies and the South Asian Studies Programme at the National University of Singapore, Singapore. His latest book is Nation at Play: A History of Sport in India (Columbia University Press/ Penguin). He is also the author of Articles of Faith: Religion, Secularism, and the Indian Supreme Court (Oxford University Press) and has edited several books, the most recent being Media at Work in China and India: Discovering and Dissecting (Sage). He received a Ph.D. degree in political science from the University of Chicago and read history in Presidency College, Kolkata. He has also worked as an editor with the Times of India.