A MAN’S CHARACTER IS WHAT HE IN FACT IS, AND HIS REPUTATION IS WHAT OTHERS THINK OF HIM. ~ LORD DENNING

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The Modi Magic

Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi has earned a reputation for being a hardworking leader who prioritises the interests of the people and the country. This unwavering commitment has helped him build solid credibility and win the hearts of the people of Bharat. The strong reputation of Prime Minister Modi can be likened to solid credibility, which has aided him in developing mammoth goodwill. This goodwill is repeatedly converted into votes and ensures victory for the BJP in elections. This incredible ability to demolish political opponents and secure victories for all BJP candidates based on his individual goodwill has led to the term “Modi Magic” being coined.

Reputation and Goodwill

Reputation and Goodwill seem synonymous, which they are not!

Reputation is the public perception of the individual based on his past actions, achievements, and overall character built around his actions and speech in public life. Reputation also focuses on perception and trust based on past experiences and communication. The ethical conduct of the individual is an example of reputation. Reputation as an intangible asset is a metric for both success and failure.

Goodwill emerges from recognition, public connectivity, relationships and loyalty. Goodwill is a compelling intangible asset. Reputation connects the past, whereas Goodwill connects to future potential to convert into a windfall of votes. Goodwill manifests in various forms like loyalty, support, and willingness to engage. Substantial goodwill translates into votes, securing re-election and increasing political power. Public trust can make policy implementation smoother and achieve desired outcomes. Goodwill can attract funding, donations, and support from various stakeholders. Substantial goodwill enhances a politician’s legitimacy and ability to influence policy decisions and command hard choices that may invite public ire. Goodwill reinforces both credibility and reputation, creating a positive feedback loop. Goodwill is an intangible in its purest form without any legislative compulsion to expire with time. In fact, the power of goodwill is so explosive that there is no law to regulate it like most intangibles.

Credibility Connects Reputation and Goodwill

Credibility serves as the foundation on which both goodwill and reputation are cultivated. Credibility is earned through actions that demonstrate expertise, trustworthiness, and consistent promise delivery. High credibility fosters trust, bonding and respect, leading to positive perceptions and goodwill.

Reputation is a crucial driver of goodwill. A strong reputation leads to higher public loyalty, more robust political party symbol recognition, and increased goodwill. Vice-e-versa, Goodwill also enhances its reputation. A prominent politician is often perceived as more trustworthy and reliable, reinforcing his positive reputation. Both reputation and goodwill must be managed together to ensure long-term interdependent success. In politics, a politician’s reputation transcends goodwill when he carries public aspirations and takes affirmative action. Initially, credibility inculcates a growing reputation. With time, at the other end of the credibility, goodwill grows. Reputation focuses on perception and trust, while goodwill focuses on the future potential to influence public opinion and convert it into substantial votes.

In metaphor, if credibility is a magnet, reputation and goodwill are the positive and the negative poles.

Goodwill in Politics

A business entity’s market value over the book value is its goodwill value. In politics, the measurement of politicians’ goodwill is a difficult task to bring to a number. Public opinion polls, media coverage sentiments and analysis of public sentiments through their posts on social media are a few tools to value reputation. The Indian political system is a party-based system. However, the founders of these political parties often have more goodwill than the collective goodwill commanded by their political colleagues and the party. It is simply because of exceptional public service or the hype created. A few public offices fetch more media glares, and it is evident that the office’s incumbent should be more in public scrutiny to win or lose public faith. In politics, noting is stable. So credibility, reputation and goodwill are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to increasing means of character assassination. This can be evident from the rising cases of defamation cases.

While the ultimate value of reputation remains an art rather than a science, employing a comprehensive approach that combines qualitative and quantitative measures can provide valuable insights into its worth and inform strategic decisions. Reputation possesses an intangible value that can be difficult to quantify.

Since politics is a non-commercial domain, it would be appropriate to understand the goodwill valuation in terms of the power the politician commands. Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is not based on either one person or a family. The founding members of the BJP were stalwarts like the late Sri Atal Behari Vajpayee and Sri Lal Krishna Advani. However, the first generation of the BJP used their reputation to earn goodwill for the party.

Under the leadership and Prime Ministership of Sri Narendra Modi, the BJP rose to new heights of success by forming governments at the Centre and in the majority of the states. Sri Narendra Modi could make unthinkable decisions like demonetisation and scraping Article 370 from the Constitution, which were considered unpopular, to the extent of losing power. Contrary to the opponents’ outcry, public trust reimposed him back into power with more seats and a higher percentage of votes.

The goodwill Sri Narendra Modi enjoys has inspired millions to adopt Yoga to lead a better lifestyle worldwide. While addressing the United Nations (UN) during the opening of the 69th UN Assembly session, Sri Narendra Modi said ‘Yoga is an invaluable gift from our ancient tradition. Yoga embodies unity of mind and body, thought and action … a holistic approach [that] is valuable to our health and our well-being. Yoga is not just about exercise; it is a way to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and nature.’ On December 11, 2024, the UN adopted Resolution 69/131 to adopt June 21 as International Yoga Day. Yoga is an ancient Indian science that connects body, mind, heart and soul in harmony to attain higher consciousness. During the Covid-19 pandemic, yoga gave millions mental and physical strength to overcome despair. Yoga propagation and practice worldwide bind the otherwise fragmented world into one family. It was the charisma of goodwill earned by Sri Narendra Modi. The selfless service of humanity across political borders has earned affection, love, and popularity for Sri Narendra Modi globally.

Sri Narendra Modi is an ambassador of ancient Indian wisdom of sages. The world is one family is not just a part of an ancient mantra. The difficult times of COVID-19 tested Sri Narendra Modi on his virtues. Bharat, a developing nation of (then) the second largest population, provided two doses of COVID-19 vaccine free of cost to the countrymen and shared the COVID-19 vaccine, COVEX, with 101 countries, including the most influential US. Goodwill, a very powerful intangible, blessed Sri Narendra Modi with its best. When the stalwart decision makers of the developed world were busy managing COVID-19 in their countries, Sri Narendra Modi took the lead in embracing all who were vulnerable to the pandemic virus by sharing the Indian-manufactured vaccine. Sri Narendra Modi is, with a 76% rating from the US-based Morning Consultant’s Global Leader Approval Rating, the most popular leader in the world.

The Modi Guarantee

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a first-generation politician from a humble family background. His rise to power is a miraculous story of connecting with ordinary citizens while climbing the political ladder. Some crucial questions lie behind the astonishing power of Sri Narendra Modi to influence the public. In contemporary politics, Sri Narendra Modi is the tallest leader.

The answer to why other politicians have not been able to follow Sri Narendra Modi’s footsteps lies in the distinction between selfless public service and mere politics. The values carried and practised by Sri Modi are to be emulated by others to raise a new creed of politics. The vote appeal in the name of Modi Guarantee signals that Sri Modi knows he is using his goodwill to win elections for the party candidates. The Modi Guarantee is not a lottery ticket for anyone to become an MLA or an MP. It is a silent expectation that other politicians, at least in the BJP, shall realise that there is no magic. It was an arduous, vacation-free and perhaps lonely journey on the path of dedicating one’s life to the cause of the nation. Politics is getting a new meaning under the political rather than social service of Sri Narendra Modi.

Is it healthy for a democracy to rely on the ‘magic’ of one leader? In a democratic setup with a large population like India, collective representation and decision-making are crucial. The ‘Modi Guarantee’ directly connects the voter to Prime Minister Modi, even though the vote is cast for another candidate representing the BJP. The ‘Modi Guarantee’ strategy renders the candidates somewhat meaningless. Due to the sheer size of India’s population, it is difficult for voters to reach out to Prime Minister Modi if the elected representatives fail to fulfil the ‘Modi Guarantee’ or do not fulfil public aspirations. Similarly, it is equally challenging for Prime Minister Modi to ensure that the elected public representatives do not dilute the goodwill associated with the ‘Modi Magic’.

The Challenge

There is a question: Will the BJP, as the largest political party in the world, eventually become weak under the overwhelming influence of the ‘Modi Magic’? Prime Minister Modi has inspired the public through various initiatives, like promoting yoga, cleanliness, and austerity in public life. The public holds affection for him and considers him responsible for all happenings in the country. In a way, Prime Minister Modi willingly takes on the blame while his political colleagues become somewhat irrelevant. This creates a gap in goodwill between Prime Minister Modi and other BJP politicians, which may prove counterproductive for the party. BJP leaders must work harder to bridge this gap in the party’s long-term interest. Sri Narendra Modi is a practitioner of selfless service to humanity, as narrated in the Bhagwat Gita. The BJP leaders basking in the glory of success won by Modi Magic should start following the footsteps of Sri Narendra Modi to build their reputation. It is the only way to enhance the goodwill earned and shared by Modi Magic. The world will witness a new creed of politicians practising Karma Yoga if they succeed!