Caste-aways of India’s politics: From Mandal to Modi

They are the new castaways of India’s politics. The massive Modi tsunami has swept away mascots of caste politics in India, tossing these so-called messiahs of backward castes into oblivion. The spectacular drubbing of caste-based parties in the 2014 elections in India has been interpreted by pundits as a potential paradigm shift in India’s political landscape with the politics of vote banks giving way to development-centric politics, blended with a dose of Hindutva, which has been exemplified in the overwhelming victory of the BJP and Narendra Modi.

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ModiSpeak: The Man In His Own Words

It’s the Modi moment in India’s political history. Narendra Modi has made history by delivering the blockbuster victory for the BJP in the 2014 elections in India, a spectacular performance that has stunned pollsters and pundits alike. In the first-ever high-level presidential-style campaign, the 63-year-old BJP leader had unleashed a massive tech-savvy campaign blitzkrieg that included broadcasting speeches through 3D holographs, addressing 477 rallies and attending over 5,000 poll-related events. Over the last few months, he traversed more than 300,000 kilometres from literally Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Here are excerpts from Modi’s speeches and comments that offer hints and guesses to the kind of leader India’s 1.2 billion-plus people has chosen to lead their country.

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