Modi's Yogi conundrum

No one will challenge Modi in BJP. But Yogi is emulating him, making UP a mirror image of what Gujarat was under Modi, and making sure he isn't a pushover

Narendra Modi turned 71 this Friday. The scale on which his government and party celebrated it created waves across the country, and also some whispers in central Delhi’s usual ‘gyani’ circles.

If it’s the 50th, 60th, 75th or even the 70th, we can understand. But why such extraordinary celebrations for the 71st? Now, who is to answer that question, particularly under a dispensation that claims great, and justifiable, pride in not letting anyone, not even the self-proclaimed Shankaracharyas of political punditry, get a whiff of what’s on its mind.

Scuttlebutt ranges from just the basic need to generate good, happier