Delhi poll debacle: Communicate and empower, Mr Modi

It's the season of political miracles in India - of resounding verdicts, of lambasting dynastic politics, of fair play, of shouting out deafening silences and of snubbing the arrogant. Ironically, the electorate that voted the UPA out of power for the same reasons less than a year ago also voted against the Modi-led government - but just after ten months. It took the UPA ten years to go back and introspect. In comparison, the dream run for what was touted as the dream team was quite short .

Why? Besides the social factors that include the government's silence and lame explanations for senile talk by some of its ministers and not reining in of fringe elements who have succeeded in usurping the government's development agenda; and the politics of the decision to bring in Kiran Bedi as the party's chief ministerial candidate - there is an underlying fundamental principle that the party did not follow. That of communicating the essence of what the government has done or plans to do to implement its vision that orchestrated BJP's win in the 2014 general election.

It was all very well to capture the imagination of millions of Indians on the promise of 'acche din', but somewhere in these nine months none of that translated into anything tangible on the ground. Apprehensions in the minds of people were further stroked by trash talk of  various outfits that the government didn't do anything to distance itself from.

Moreover, in these nine months, the terms of trade have shifted substantially from rural economy to urban economy. While the stock market has touched new highs showcasing the interest and faith of investors in the Indian growth story, Minimum Support Price has increased only 3-5 per cent as compared to 10-15 per cent earlier. Rural wages have declined as has demand. While urban wage growth has been stronger, in a year of weak monsoon help from the centre to the states was slow. Some states have complained that NREGA assistance was missing, which has hurt rural demand and sentiment. It is that shift which is only reaffirming the notion that BJP's policies are pro-rich and pro-business.

It's true that the government in the last few months has taken a flurry of decisions which are reform-oriented - from making progress on GST, to the new land acquisition law, changes in labour laws, mining laws, putting the disinvestment agenda back on track - by any standard this a decent track record. But the challenge with reforms is that reforms have to be sold well and that's where the government has faltered. The centralised approach to decision making has left the ministers disempowered, so much so that most are wary of even explaining the workings of their respective ministries.

Secondly, even as inflation has come down, prices on the ground have remained high. People want to see tangible results, such as more jobs, which are yet to take off as most investments continue to be brownfield.

Thirdly, the Aam Aadmi Party has beautifully meshed the Congress's  populist agenda with the BJP's governance agenda because only reforms don't capture the imagination of people instantly.

The Delhi verdict cannot be read as a class verdict because the BJP also lost out on its long-standing trader constituency. Overwhelmingly people voted above class and caste and for a government that will bring in good governance.

As a consequence of this disastrous showing, would the BJP's first full Budget be a populist one? Hopefully, not. The results perhaps will not sway the party's national agenda of streamlining subsidies.

But what we could see more of is spending on public goods which benefits all - such as roads and  power and some more 'inclusive' schemes. And until the effects start to show, it could do very well for the Prime Minister to host his next 'Mann ki Baat' on the land acquisition bill.