EATING MY WORDS ON THE FUTURE COURSE OF INDIA

The people’s verdict has given Modi 3.0 limited space to manoeuvre. Winds of change are sure to blow across many policy terrains. Even the Finance Commission may not be immune

- KM CHANDRASEKHAR

A few weeks ago, I had written on the unstoppable Modi juggernaut and the impotent resistance from the opposition in the form of an INDIA bloc that was splitting at the seams even before it got a chance to demonstrate its ability to fight. I underscored Modi's supreme confidence in his ability to win the battle by himself, with the BJP and the NDA merely applauding from the sidelines.

PM Modi exuded confidence in responding to the motion of thanks for the president's address in the previous session of parliament. Not only would the BJP and the NDA cross past majorities, but the former would win 370 seats out of an NDA tally of 400, he claimed. I felt that the miscalculations of the Congress and their inability to bring together the INDIA bloc could well presage a long period of uninterrupted BJP rule, the break-up of the Congress and the emergence of a Congress-mukt Bharat, the final destination the BJP wishes to reach.

I now have to eat my words. So does Prime Minister Modi, who suddenly finds himself with not even a majority for his party. To form a government, he needed the support of two seasoned warriors with long experience of political fights sometimes winning, sometimes losing knowing full well that nothing is static in politics and that today's enemies can become tomorrow's friends. As chief minister and as PM, Modi has never faced a strong opposition. He was convinced that 'Modi ki guarantee' alone would win the election.

He was so self-assured that he asked his officers to prepare a 100-day plan well before the election, so that he could hit the deck running. The expectation was that Modi 3.0 would be a seamless continuation of Modi 2.0, with the PM in a stronger position than ever before. The campaign became a glorification crusade.