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Admirer-turned-critic Meghnad says Modi lost the plot
British politician and economist Meghnad Desai, a self-confessed Narendra Modi admirer till some time back, has accused the prime minister of not being a team player and predicted that the "disappointed" electorate will not vote him back with a majority.
Mumbai: British politician and economist Meghnad Desai, a self-confessed Narendra Modi admirer till some time back, has accused the prime minister of not being a team player and predicted that the "disappointed" electorate will not vote him back with a majority.
Modi "over promised" and was wrong in believing that he could run the whole country with the help of a few bureaucrats and not with a strong cabinet, as he did in Gujarat when he was the chief minister, Desai said.
"Ultimately, the people are disappointed. Somehow, the feeling is that 'acche din ab tak nahin aaye' (the promised good days have not come in yet)," Desai told PTI in an interview.
The London-settled Desai, a long-time Labour Party member, said Modi had a "great opportunity" and seemed to suggest that lack of team play may prove to be his undoing.
"Modi, while being a good politician is not a good team player, he is not a team leader. He is a mass leader, but not a team leader," he said, adding barring Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj, no other minister in his cabinet had previous experience.
In contrast, the UPA regime, led by the "unlikely" Manmohan Singh, had at least six cabinet ministers, including Pranab Mukherjee, Arjun Singh, Sharad Pawar and P Chidambaram, who are all prime minister materials, he said.
Modi had no idea that things would become so difficult and now it has come to such a level that he will have to ask for one more chance at power, Desai said.