If that were the case, the BJP would not have lost the general elections 2004. After all they came after the 2002 victory of Modi.
The point is Godhra and Gujarat riots define Modi. When everyone was against him (not personally but as a symbol), he went on to win a massive share in assembly. That gave him the aura of invincibility.
He is a 'god' of circumstances much as Indira Gandhi was at her time. In the absence of a religiously polarized elections, he is barely clingling on to his majority (if at all).
In any case, the article is deeper than Modi and not only about him. It is one of the better ones rediff has put up in a long time.
