In the future it's going to be Narendra Modi v/s Rahul Gandhi

In the next few years Manmohan Singh, L K Advani, Rajnath Singh will gradually fade into inconsequence. Two stars will burn bright on the Indian political firmament. Narendra Modi. And Rahul Gandhi.

Their clash is inevitable. The battle today in India is between the two different visions of what India should be. One is the Nehru-Gandhi kind of secularism. "I am a Hindu. I am a Muslim. I am a Christian. And I am a Sikh," thus spoke Mahatma Gandhi years ago. That strand of secularism is represented by the Congress party today. The original vision has been corrupted by vote-bank politics, but it still remains.

Rahul Gandhi will be the face of that kind of vision for India.

The second vision is of a Hindutva India. A Hindutva, not a Hindu India. "India is a Hindu majority country and never forget that", is the thinking. Akbar will not be eulogised. Gandhi and Nehru will be garlanded only on their birthdays; that too only to make a show. The real role model in this India will be Sardar Patel, Shivaji and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.

That is the vision of Narendra Modi. Others in the BJP/RSS want it too, but are not strong enough to fulfil it. Modi has both the charisma and the single-mindedness to do it.

Both Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Gandhi have some similarities. Both have not been corrupted by power. Both are clean. The word corruption will never be attached to these two guys.

But they are poles apart.

Rahul Gandhi rode to prominence because of his dynasty. As he disarmingly said once that he is in this position today only because he was born into the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. But he is the crown prince and many love him. The Muslims will have no other option than to love him, as he will continue the Mahatma Gandhi-Nehru kind of secularism.

Narendra Modi, in contrast, started as a canteen manager in Ahmadabad. Very humble beginnings. The RSS ideology drives him. Nationalism is his religion, not Hinduism. He wants the Muslims to be Indians first, then Muslims. He is not going to mollycoddle them like the Congress does. He doesn't have to. He has tapped the resentment of Hindus against Muslims having different civil laws. The resentment started with the bumbling by the Congress on the Shah Bano case. After allowing the Gujarat riots in 2002, he has driven home the message to the Indian Muslims to be Indians first, or else.... Modi is an able and ruthless administrator. The voters of Gujarat love him. Tomorrow the voters of India will perhaps fall to his charms.

Only Rahul Gandhi stands in his way.