Narendra Modi has his mandate till 2019. He still is the Prime Minister of India, would still travel in his armored 7 Series BMW and still is eligible for rent free accommodation at 7 Race Course Road.
His political capital has been eroded a bit. It was bound to. It would have been much easier for him to go the Vajpayee way and present himself as a Statesman and keep away from Bihar polls. He did not. He is a fighter. He tried all he could to make BJP win. He didn't get success. As a result, some things are bound to change.
Nitish is not the the national face of Opposition or the face of the third front. Allying yourself with Congress erodes your credibility of being third front. His mandate indeed carries a message exceeding Bihar. But those who think that he can be the PM face in 2019, it's not feasible as of now. One victory in a Provincial election does not make him the opposition face to Modi. Nitish Kumar has 2 MPs in Lok Sabha whereas Modi has 282. Don't compare, at least not now.
Nitish has to be a candidate from the Congress to have a pan-India appeal. No one from Rajasthan or Gujarat or Andhra Pradesh is going to vote for a JDU leader. To have a pan-India appeal, he needs to be from a pan-India party. Congress is the only eligible party. But, Sonia Gandhi would never sacrifice the future of her son for Nitish Kumar. And if Nitish becomes a consensus candidate of third-front parties like Left, AAP, JDS, Mamata, Samata, SP, BSP, INLD, well let me tell you one thing third front will always come third whatever be the case.
Reform Front
Now, for Modi on the reform front, he will have to face some blockades. He will not be able to bypass Parliament thinking that he will get the numbers later and make up for the lost time. He will have to go mission mode for many of his projects.
Following are the reforms that may get stuck due to BJP's Bihar debacle.
Early passage of GST seems unlikely
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Bill for Bankruptcy Law Reform would be delayed
UDAY (Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana) may not be that successful if the opposition state governments don’t sign up for it.
Land Bill will have to be withdrawn and kept on back-burner may be for ever
44 Labour Amendments proposed are unthinkable as of now
The Prime Minister can, however, do the following
Repeal Retrospective Taxation Laws
The indirect tax machinery needs to be revamped and prepared for GST implementation
Further the Ease of Doing Business process
Simplify the Income Tax laws
Adhere to fiscal discipline, don't think of going populist. That path is suicidal.
Political Front
I am quite happy with the way Modi is running his Government, not his Party. They need to go back to the drawing board to figure things out. The party needs rework so they can reclaim the lost ground. I suggest that BJP must implement certain changes with the way Party functions.
Mr. Prime Minister, you have 282 MPs. It means you can fire a few. You will still have majority. I suggest Sakshi Maharaj, Yogi Adityanath, Shatrughan Sinha for starters. People need to know that you are still the boss and only you call the shots. It was your mandate in 2014 meant for development and no one from the Party is allowed to hijack it.
Don't give Amit Shah another term. Extend his term by six months and then re-appoint Rajnath Singh as Party President. Your image has taken a hit, you need to regain it. UP polls are the only crucial polls for you before semi-finals in 2018. Rajnath Singh is a more liberal face, acceptable face. Increase your circle of trust. Don't lose Gujarat at any cost. Change CM if necessary. Gujarat is your bastion. You can't be seen losing it.
Don't involve yourself with with everything that goes on in the party. Leave Panchayat Polls and minor stuff to the Party President. Don't micro-manage things.
You are killing your Party's future prospects by appointing politically weak CMs like Khattar. The strength of BJP has always been strong leadership at even state levels. BJP had hope of coming back in 2004 because it had some strong CMs, including you. Groom and nurture leadership, don't install it.
Treat your allies with respect. You need to have some working understanding with all of them. You want your party to grow but don't threaten existence of your allies. They will turn up against you.
You let go of Prashant Kishor. Times have changed Hon'ble Prime Minister. You need both, a Shah and a Prashant Kishor. If you can't get him back, have a dedicated PR agency for the party to do election planning and strategizing just they way you have one for Foreign Policy.
Its not possible for you to let go of RSS. Sit with them, arrive at a common understanding. Same thing goes with the bureaucracy. You need to work the system, not change it. Changing the system is left to Mr Kejriwal.
Halt your campaign in Odisha, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. You have no chances of winning there. Ally with them and get your bills passed, in return offer them some industries or nuclear reactors or UMPPs. They shall be more than happy to be with you, rather than against you. You may need them in 2019.
Communication is the key. People have voted for you for different reasons. Communicate with them how you are working to achieve these objectives. GDP is increasing, fiscal indicators are good but Dal is Rs 200/kg. 90% people don't understand economy. Make sure they are not feeling burdened in your rule.
Don't shoot the messengers. Right Wing in India does not have a credible intellectual support system. Nurture them, encourage genuine feedback, and get ground reports. Don't depend solely on hierarchy. By-pass hierarchy sometimes. You have the hardware (the party machinery), get some good software (guides and intellectuals).
Foreign Policy
Mr. Prime Minister, I know that Foreign Policy comes with the job. So, do it but don't over do it. Don't make these community addresses abroad from now on. Indeed you are PM of all Indians, including those living abroad. But, your vote lies within the country. Do business, come back and focus on India. Last year there was enthusiasm and excitement of you speaking at Madison or UN, there is none for you speaking at Wembley today. You need to highlight your achievements in other fields as well. Foreign Policy is not going to win you elections.
Finally, Your Government
Your development image still remains intact. Highlight your achievements and keep away controversial issues like Beef, Bans.
Some of your Ministers have failed to perform. You need to sack them. Radhamohan Singh, Venakiah Naidu, Ananth Kumar, Rajeev Pratap Rudi, J P Nadda, Sadanand Gowda.
Give Jaitley a firm reminder. The Service Tax is 14.5%. Middle class is your main supporter. Don't burden it with taxes. Work out other ways to generate revenue.
Governance has different meaning for different people. For some it's free market economy, for others it's timely recruitment in Railways and Banks. These two are contradictory but you have to manage both.
You have to be more accommodating with your opposition in Parliament. You need them to get your bills passed. Break their unity just the way you did on Coal and Mines Bill, they all shall fall in line.
Come up with a political game changer scheme like MGNREGA for the rural population. Maybe a concessional credit based small scale self employment scheme. Something like Har Parivaar, Ek Rojgaar(Every Family, One Employment). Use your Skill India, Jan Dhan there. Make it target based, mission mode.
This country elected you in 2014 with immense hope and aspiration. Your mandate was for development and not Beef Ban. You still have 3.5 years with you till you go seek referendum on your work. Bring some tangible outcomes and revive the economy. You will be elected again. Your popularity has not diminished. You would have seen lakhs of people there in rallies just to have a glimpse of you. Start improving your relations with press and media. It won't be easy but media will always be ready to air you, host you. Don't speak unilaterally through rallies. And don't over expose yourself by being too much in public eye. There was a void for you in 2014, there isn't one today. Things haven't changed much Sir. You still can narrate the political discourse in this country. And for me, just get India into NSG, MTCR and Wassenaar Arrangement, I shall be more than happy to vote for you again.
Hon'ble Prime Minister Sir, you still have the mandate. Don't waste it.
How can Prime Minister Modi reclaim his mandate after the loss in the 2015 Bihar assembly elections? - Quora
@Rain Man @jaunty @lightoftruth
