New Delhi: On the first page of this graphic novel, two journalists on opposite ends of the political spectrum face off in a television studio. One asks the other why he should vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024. The other responds with not one, but 101 reasons why — each one painstakingly rendered in comic form.
101 Reasons, Why I Will Vote for Modi is written by Shantanu Gupta, known for his 2017 biography of Yogi Adityanath, The Monk Who Became Chief Minister. Published in English and Hindi, the graphic novel extolls Prime Minister Modi’s last decade in office and is aimed at first-time voters.
Gupta himself is a character in the novel, walking both the reader and his reporter rival — named Ravi Bhai and seemingly modelled on senior journalist Ravish Kumar — through time and space to explain how Modi has changed India for the better. His book is the latest in a wave of publications documenting a new India under Modi’s leadership. It’s part of a growing knowledge-production industry that’s helping the BJP set new narratives.
“I knew I wanted to write this book, but I also wanted to do it in an innovative way,” said Gupta. “Books like this tend to have a short shelf life, but I hope that this will stand as a good compendium of Modi’s work over the last 10 years.”
If Modi loses the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha election — which Gupta thinks is unlikely — the graphic novel runs the risk of becoming irrelevant. And if he wins, it could be dismissed as general knowledge for the voter. But given the success of his biography of Yogi, and its subsequent graphic novel follow-up, Gupta is hopeful that his latest work will also stand the test of time.
A showcase of styles
The novel is the culmination of Gupta’s research on the use of comics in political commentary during his time at Oxford University on the Chevening-Gurukul Fellowship.
Each of the 10 chapters showcases a different graphic style, which Gupta matches to the chapter’s theme. The section on the Army, for example, employs the Japanese manga technique — partly because manga renders male characters masculine and handsome. The chapter on the economy is done in ink-wash black and white because it can be a dry subject, while another segment on India’s ‘cultural renaissance’ under Modi is done in watercolour style.
Familiar figures show up throughout the novel. External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker gets multiple huge panels, while Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari features prominently in a chapter on India’s infrastructure. Home Minister Amit Shah, too, gets his own panel. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gets to share panel space with Modi, while foreign political bigwigs like Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Xi Jinping make guest appearances.
Gupta didn’t include Yogi as a main character, focusing on members of the Union cabinet instead. But as his biographer, he couldn’t resist slipping in a few textual references and two graphic references. One of these is Yogi in the background of the newly consecrated Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Modi is unsurprisingly ubiquitous, taking on different cartoon avatars in different chapters.
Nothing is off limits: The PM’s viral yoga poses are rendered in sepia/muted style in one chapter, while his triumphant address to massive crowds under glittering lights in New York’s Madison Square Garden is shown in a realistic art style.
Gupta cautions that his book is different from the Bal Narendra comic series that came out in 2014. Those were children’s books. This book is aimed at a slightly older audience.
“The book is pure policy commentary targeted to first-time voters, who would have been eight or nine years old in 2014,” Gupta added.
He uses fictional characters to represent common people, who explain how different schemes and initiatives by Modi have improved their lives. Each reason to vote for Modi is numbered in saffron.
Gupta originally came up with the idea over a year ago, though he only finished the manuscript in January after his three-month fellowship at Oxford ended. As a regular TV panellist, Gupta already had talking points about Modi’s tenure at his fingertips — but found himself stuck at around 95 reasons to vote for the PM. Eventually, he was able to add six more points.
His publisher, Itihas Academy, suggested sticking to 101 reasons — in part because it makes the book title more distinctive when one Googles the question.
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A walk through Modi’s India
From the television studio, Gupta’s character takes the Modi critic straight to Uttar Pradesh.
There, they meet the first of several characters. A Benarasi woman named Kalavati, whose life has been significantly improved by the PM Awas Yojana that gave her Rs 4 lakh to build a pucca house. Then, the comic moves on to Ramavati, who emphatically says that women in the new UP under Modi and Yogi are completely safe.
Gupta says that he’s aware of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data that puts crime against women as highest in UP, but cautions that it must be read in context. It points to per capita crime, which will inevitably be high in a densely populated and large state like UP. “Being from UP, I wanted to show how women’s safety has improved. I’m not saying crimes aren’t happening, but they are reduced and action is very stern — that’s what I wanted to highlight,” he said.
But Gupta admits he might have his own biases about UP as a native and as a biographer of Yogi. “Technically even Modi is an MP from UP!”
Each reason to vote for Modi is summed up by a poetic couplet, which Gupta says is more poignant in the Hindi version.
“The expatriates, nation’s envoys, heroes in their own right/ Brand ambassadors of India, shining our collective light/Today, the strength of my Indian passport has doubled in might,/ Under Modi, my India’s identity shines so bright,” is one example.
But at the end of the book, instead of capitulating to Gupta’s overwhelming onslaught of reasons to vote for Modi, the rival reporter character demurs. “Shantanu Bhai, I am convinced, but my livelihood depends on opposing Modi…Now I shall go and make some mischievous videos with half-truths on PM Modi and track my YouTube views.”
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)