This is Modi’s dilemma. On the one hand, hard-core Hindutva is his forte; that is where the core of his fan club originally came from in 2002. On the other, that constituency is not sizeable enough to catapult him to the top post. So, he has to address another constituency – of development and good governance. There is not much overlap between the two constituencies. The challenge before him all these years has been how to say hello to the latter without saying good-bye to the former.

In Gujarat, he has been walking this tightrope admirably well for about a decade. This mix-and-match ideology has been given a name too: Moditva. After the December 2012 hat-trick in Gujarat, he has been fine-tuning this ambiguous message at the national – and now even international – level.

There are many – among common voters, political parties as well as diplomatic circles – who are impressed with his no-nonsense administration and industrial development, but are wary of his communal tag. They’d like an apology from Modi for the riots of 2002, before supporting or endorsing him more vocally. However, an apology is out of question for Modi for reasons of narrow political strategy as he would end up losing his core backers. So he has to find a way to hand-wave in both directions simultaneously.

The Sadbhavna mission of August last year was an experiment in that direction. The latest example is his weekend video address to the NRIs courtesy the Overseas Friends of BJP. Consider these two quotes:

* "I have a very simple definition of secularism: India First. In whatever we do or decide India must get priority. Nothing less than India's well-being should be our goal and if this happens, secularism will automatically run in our blood.”

* “When we get a mandate of five years, we must work on that and serve people selflessly. If we do that then people will forgive our mistakes as well.”

Can anybody disagree with the first quote? That is the line he has been harping on in Gujarat with the expression “development of all, appeasement of none”. On the one hand, minorities and the secularists should have no objection to this formulation. On the other, the RSS and others can read in it a catchy slogan of nothing other than their core ideology of cultural nationalism itself.

The second quote too is in the same vein. It is a repeat of a line from his victory speech in December: “I seek your forgiveness if there have been drawbacks, mistakes. Give me your blessings so that we don’t make any mistake (again). Even by mistake, we should not do any wrong to anyone.”

He is not talking in the "mistakes-were-made" passive voice of Nixon. He is taking the blame, but it is not clear for what. What is clear is that he is inviting potential supporters and fence-sitters to pick the relevant interpretation. Is he apologising for 2002? Most news reports thought so, pointing out that he said so without saying so. For all those who are dying to come out in support of Modi but are looking for a fig leaf, this is it. All the hardliners, especially among the RSS and elsewhere, need not be displeased either because he is not apologizing at all! Meanwhile, for those who are finding faults with his development model (which is actually the Gujarat model which in turn is very much in tune with the neo-liberal model), Modi is talking about the mistakes on the human development front. Lastly, there is a taunt at the scam-ridden UPA. Deliver governance and people will pardon mistakes which could be riots or malnutrition. In one voice he is addressing multiple constituencies and articulating the bottom-line of 2014 elections.

Over the next 12 months or so, expect Modi to come up with more innovative ways of talking to heterogeneous constituencies. In one voice, of course!

CLICK ON THE LINKS TO VIEWS THE YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE SPEECHES:
US speech

Gujarat victory speech