Why Mr Modi regrets not being able to woo the 'real' Lutyens Delhi

Perhaps his angst stems from the fact that the BJP is still cast as the subaltern and does not yet constitute the establishment, or what passes for it, writes T N Ninan

The Prime Minister says that his regret has been his inability to win over “Lutyens Delhi”. The term referred originally to the government buildings and surrounding bungalow zone that the British built as their new Indian capital, a century ago. Edwin Lutyens was one of the chief architects, but (fortunately) many of his ideas for the new capital were shot down. Lutyens’ initial ideas did not include the choice of red sandstone, traffic roundabouts, trees and bushes, and placing Rashtrapati Bhavan atop Raisina Hill. Most of the buildings in the new capital (including the bungalows) were actually designed by other