BJP keeps eco-stick in NDA

Its governing allies are not happy on the economy and complain of ignored concerns but find themselves unable to be assertive

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to company secretaries last Wednesday on the economy had beamed a mixed message to his Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) allies. The ruling National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA’s) constituents didn’t find much to cheer, feeling Modi had not touched on their fundamental concerns, while he sought to appropriate the ethical space by emphasising the Centre’s ‘combat corruption’ agenda.
 
To make the point, an NDA leader, who wished to remain anonymous, recalled a knockout punch delivered by a Democratic presidential candidate during the 1984 US primaries. He asked “Where’s the beef?” when his opponent claimed during a