Bharath is a democracy, and Modi is not Mao (thank heavens for that!). You cannot “steamroll” reforms or citizens in the name of “development.” Besides, Mao set China back culturally, politically, and even economically by centuries until Deng Xiaoping came to the rescue.
For all the talk of Modi and Shah being naive, he became the only PM after Nehru to win a third term, and that too with 200+ seats while battling post-COVID rural distress, global chaos, global inflation, failed monsoon, and all the manufactured drama by the opposition. The duo are responsible for planting BJP flags in every corner of India, have helped form governments in states where BJP was never in power before, and energized a base that was written off after constant defeats between 2004 and 2012.
There is only so much one can do with a fickle-minded voter base, a militant farmer and labor class, and a bureaucracy with corrupt roots going back to the 19th century. For all the talk of “bulldozing reforms,” we just saw what happened to Yogi Adityanath’s attempt to electronically track teachers’ attendance and have food sellers put their names on the signs. Democracy and electoral politics are all about maintaining a delicate balance because you never know what tomorrow holds, as Kejri found out the hard way.
