“You have got to hand it to him. Love him or hate him, there is no denying what he has done for Gujarat,” a top corporate honcho said as the topic veered around to Narendra Modi. “And only he could have pulled off something like this,” he waves dramatically while surveying the expanse of Mahatma Mandir, the venue for the Vibrant Gujarat summit.
Engineering major Larsen & Toubro, one of the oldest residents in the State, worked around the clock to make this sprawling infrastructure a reality. It is this passion and the desire to excel that clearly makes the Gujarat Chief Minister the favourite poster boy of India Inc. Despite this, most businessmen privately concede that this may not be good enough to catapult him to the national stage in 2014.
“Industry’s choice of a prime minister does not necessarily reflect the national sentiment. To that extent, it would be premature to think if Modi can pull it off,” a top CEO, who preferred not to be named, said.
Yet, there was no denying the enormous charisma of the Gujarat CM as he strode on to the dais for the inaugural of Vibrant Gujarat on Friday. Most people just gawked at the man who evokes extreme reactions in this country.
Modi, of course, has industry’s complete support, which was quite obvious as speaker after speaker gushed about his vision and the magic he had created in Gujarat. Anil Ambani, Chairman of the Reliance ADA Group, drew parallels with Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel and his own father, the late Dhirubhai Ambani, the other worthy sons of Gujarat.
Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, wondered if the secret of the Gujarati’s entrepreneurial spirit perhaps lay in the soil of the State. “They are not afraid of business failures,” he said while acknowledging their ability to make “immediate and enduring” relationships.
The list of speakers included a galaxy of big names — Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries Chairman; Ratan Tata, Tata Sons Emeritus; Shashi Ruia, Essar Group Chairman; and, Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank CEO. And giving the global voice of support were high commissioners, Members of Parliament and politicians from the UK, Canada, Denmark, Japan and Australia. The verdict was unanimous: Gujarat is unique and all of us want to be part of this growth story.
In the midst of this buoyant mood, it was intriguing to see the Vice-Governor of a relatively low-profile Russian province such as Astrakhan, Konstantin Markelov, wishing Modi the very best for the general elections due next year. Was this, perhaps, a reflection of what a part of the global community actually wants as the new India leadership? It is no secret that the country is hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, and there are concerns that it is rapidly losing its way.
In contrast, Modi represents an energy level which just cannot be ignored. The downside, of course, is that not everyone is convinced that ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ is the magic cure that the CM promises every two years. “The investments finally boil down to less than 10 per cent of what is promised,” a corporate chief said. This time around, it was only Mukesh Ambani and Shashi Ruia who actually articulated investment figures for the future. The rest largely confined themselves to singing hosannas about the miracle that is Gujarat.