Finally, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate has given India a sense of his economic vision for the country. Apart from the much-publicised Gujarat model of development—basically, a ‘strong’ administration topped with dollops of PR and a pronounced pro-corporate tilt—Modi had thus far shied away from speaking out on macro-economic policy and other pressing, allied issues. His views matter, of course, because the economy has assumed centrestage as a crucial election issue for 2014. Sensing this, political parties have been busy pump-priming voter expectations—from promising to ‘fight’ inflation; ‘reform’ taxes; give ‘free’ water; increase the number of subsidised lpg cylinders.
Narendra Modi’s first vision statement—a 90-minute-long speech laced with patriotic sentiment and anodyne play of words like ‘No bills, only political will’ and ‘Five Ts for brand India’—at the BJP national council meet in Delhi was thus closely watched. Did it justify the faith many...
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