Reading Rajdeep Sardesai’s 2004: The Election That Surprised India is like watching a much-loved, oft-watched movie all over again, like, say Sholay. Some of us remember all the songs, all the fight sequences, all the punchlines, others, a few. But we all know the sequence of events, the highs and lows and, of course, the denouement. Which automatically means it is not a nail biting, page-turning cliff-hanger and you could press the pause button once in a while. But never is there a dull moment, especially if you believe contemporary politics is history in the making, impacting my life and yours today and determining what kind of life your children and mine will lead in the coming years.
This is the third book in Rajdeep’s trilogy: The Election that Changed India came in 2014, How Modi Won India in 2019 and, now Surprise. It captures a decade that was arguably the most dramatic in the country’s post-Independence history, the last five years from 2019 to 2024, perhaps the most turbulent with the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, a bank-breaking lockdown, the contentious abrogation of Article 370, the divisive arrival of CAA, hate speech, fake news, farmers protests and Manipur’s horrific violence, to list the most unforgettable.
Rajdeep is quoted in social media saying, of all three books, this was the most difficult one to write because of the complexity of multiple issues that shadowed our lives. But he has broken it all down with skilful headlines for his 14 chapters, 15, if you count the epilogue: “Abki Baar Char Sau Paar: The Gods that Failed”, followed by “Taali Bajao, Thali Bajao: The Covid Challenge”, “Khela Hobe: Pawar Saheb and Mamata Didi”, “Rahul Gandhi’s Mohabbat Ki Dukan”, “Hamare Saath ED Hai: Washing Machine Politics” and, also, “Democracy Zinda Hai: Stories of Hope.”
And don’t miss “You are Godi Media: The media takeover” in which Rajdeep records his own brush with the law of sedition and the possibility of arrest and comprehensively comments on the state of the fourth pillar of democracy in the country, including Pegasus, the arrests of Siddique Kappan and Prabir Purakayasta and the takeover of NDTV by the Adani Group.
In this chapter, Rajdeep drops a name, that of 54-year-old Hiren Joshi, the PMO’s communications in charge since before 2014, from whom he requested an interview for this book. Mr Joshi’s reply: “In the interest of honesty, I want to say the book will not be charitable to us. It will be, like your tweets, loaded with backhanded jabs, so I do not wish to legitimise this effort. But I wish you the best for it.”
I hope Mr Joshi reads the book. Rajdeep is an excellent story teller who writes as easily as he speaks, which makes the 500-page book a breeze to read. He may also find the book useful, full of clues about why BJP’s big slogan for the elections — 400 paar — flopped. Legend is, Rajdeep’s working title for the book right up to the polls was “Hat-trick”. After fourth of June, he had to change it to “Surprise”.
2024: The Election that Surprised India
By Rajdeep Sardesai
HarperCollins
pp. 480; Rs 799
