The post-May 2024 dilemma

Even if we have a majority government, economic performance will be sub-optimal without political consensus on reforms

The one big lesson we can learn after a decade of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition rule and another with a majority government is this: Timely and well-thought-out economic reform is challenging in both situations. While it would be churlish to deny that more reforms have been undertaken during the last 10 years under Narendra Modi than in the previous 10 under Manmohan Singh,  this comes with a rider. Even under majority rule, some very important reforms are difficult to legislate and implement.

In the case of the reforms already implemented — the Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile-based subsidy reforms