Is Modi's 'Parivartan' any different from Mamata's 'Poriborton'?

The term is very familiar to us by now, thanks to Mamata Banerjee. The one who coined it and strove to walk along it, our good old didi seems to have set a trend for other leaders too (PS: Modi launches Parivartan rally in Bihar).

The two leaders may be polls apart, but the progress is the same. Here's how:

Breaking hegemony

Mamata broke the Marxists' spinal chord when she came to power in 2011, smashing the record 35 years of CPI(M) rule. That is when she coined her pet 'Poriborton'. Modi too broke the familial dynasty of 10 years and came to power in 2014, promising change. Now that the latter has launched the Parivartan rally in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections in 2015, it got us thinking whether both the leaders are taking the same path. At least the trend shows so.

Didi's fight against the Nano factory at Singur and her subsequent win is somewhat similar to Modi's battle for 'Make in India' and his successful foreign tours, winning him investments for the country.

But here is a bit of a difference. While Didi drove out capital from the state with Nano, Modi is trying to bring a positive change. While Didi's Venice dream is still at a distance, she has not been sending positive vibes to the industrial and political causes. The state government in broke, but Banerjee is helpless.

State versus brain drain

With Modi's attempts to attracts NRIs and youths, leave alone foreign investment to India, the country surely has hopes for progress. Incidentally, Modi signed close to 20 agreements only in France as on April 10, 2015. Didi may have visited Singapore with a developmental agenda in her mind, but came back empty-handed. The simplicity did not work there.

In fact, youngsters prefer staying away from the state as they look for better opportunities, pay packages and smarter living. Being the fourth most populous state in the country, West Bengal is the biggest loser of talent pool. In fact, after the Nano incident, recruitment agencies could find a sudden surge in exodus as youngsters felt that the IT industry will experience a bad hit after TATA was ousted.

Coming back to the PM's parivartan rallies in Bihar-though a temporary movement (unlike Mamata's sole agenda), Modi has a vision. We cannot completely ignore the transformation that Gujarat has undergone.

For Bihar, he wants welfare, development, agriculture and employment for the people of Bihar. With Nitish Kumar having laid the plinth, that would not be impossible. Or are his promises as hollow as Didi's in West Bengal? Or should Didi get rid of her ego and learn a few things from the PM?