THE POLITICS OF AN ECONOMIC IMPASSE

UPON his stunning victory 12 years ago, Narendra Modi addressed a gathering of party faithful and appealed to them that they give him “10 years to transform” the country.

- SANJAYA BARU

UPON his stunning victory 12 years ago, Narendra Modi addressed a gathering of party faithful and appealed to them that they give him “10 years to transform” the country. As we mark the twelfth anniversary of the Modi government, it is now clear that he has succeeded in ‘transforming’ India politically but has failed to do so economically. It is worth considering whether the political transformation that has been achieved is among the reasons for the failure on the economic front.

The emerging consensus among political and policy analysts across the country is that Modi has not been able to translate his political success into economic performance. Some, like economist Surjit Bhalla, blame the ‘deep state’ or the embedded bureaucracy for this. Indeed, even many close to and loyal to the Prime Minister often articulate this view, that the real impediment to better performance is the ‘rust in the steel frame’.

Some hold the BJP’s essentially inward-oriented, ‘swadeshi’ thinking on trade policy and the confusion created by multiple interpretations of Atmanirbharata and Make in India responsible. Some castigate Modi’s own ‘instruments’, his loyal ministers, for the inadequacies of the leader. During the Congress era, inter-ministerial policy and personality differences would be spoken of openly and reported in the media. Differences between senior ministers like Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram were open secrets. Such differences and rivalries exist in Modi’s council of ministers too, and some in the media are privy to them. But these are almost never reported.