If Modi were to win tomorrow, both will change. He may not call Muslims names in public but he leaves very little to chance. Not for him the “lily-liveredness” of the old-fashioned BJP politicians. He will never even nod to a suggestion to reach out to Muslims especially, as he does not believe in “appeasement”. He is not shy of using the expression “Aalia, Malia, Kamalia” to refer to goondas on the streets of Gujarat. And when asked if he isn’t actually suggesting — in code language — that the bad guys are all Muslim, asks with a straight face: So what would you have said in English, Tom, Dick and Harry... Would that have made the bad guys all Christian?

Modi’s rise will completely change the form, style, substance and essence of the BJP’s politics. In the nineties with Ayodhya, Advani had given his party a certain direction. Modi’s rise will now mean that the use-by date on that politics is over. Most interestingly, he will change the second factor too. He may be an icon of aggressive Hindutva, but Modi has emerged as the first BJP leader ever to defy the moral and political authority of the RSS. He has not deferred to them. He has, in fact, defied them. He has even prevented RSS boys and sympathisers the power of making money on the side, something they consider their right in BJP states. The RSS is now returning the compliment by boycotting his campaign. So if Modi wins, he will also be the first BJP leader ever to win in defiance of, and despite, the RSS.

... contd.