A Testing 2nd Innings
- Amit Shah has been elected BJP chief for a second term. But this time, he must tread gingerly.
- Centralisation of power in the party has left it without a team for the real work on the ground.
- Doing fairly well—leave along winning—elections in Assam, Bengal, Kerala and TN will be tough.
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Back in 1952, as Pearl Bailey was scorching Billboard with his chartbuster Takes Two To Tango, who would have imagined that at a remove of six decades (and a few cultures) from that event, India’s Narendra Modi, only two years old then, would make that dictum the mantra of his political life. Call it an insurance policy, or even a hedge fund.
From his innings in Gujarat to the 20 months he has been prime minister, Modi has made sure that trusted lieutenant Amit Anilchandra Shah stays by his side. More of that was on display on January 24 when Shah was re-elected unopposed as Bharatiya...