Should the Modi government be worried?
Make no mistake this is the toughest moment politically for PM Modi in the last seven years. Even after the 2016 demonetisation and 2017 GST, Modi did face a great deal of criticism, espcecially from traders. But even then few raised doubts over Modi’s intent and competence. This has changed this time on, with Modi’s competence directly in question. Modi’s self congratulatory speech at the World Economic Forum earlier this year praising his government’s handling of COVID-19 has come back to haunt his government and appear as a cruel joke in retrospect.
After demonetisation, Modi did benefit from the sentiment among poorer voters that he had taken an important step targetting the allegedly illicit wealth of the rich. There’s no such sentiment this time. The farmers’ movement had already created a perception that the Modi government is against farmers. Now the urban middle class is also hurting. It remains to be seen if the poorest voters remain…