Tuesday, February 06, 2018

'BJP is on track to lose 2019 election'

Delivering the most harebrained of budgets, the BJP seems to have lost all touch. Apart from an A+ on national security, this is a government of self-absorbed technocrats and socialists, captured by a cabal of IAS officers and strategy consultants. It is too late for Modi to do much about this now.

While it does contain some populist stuff targeted at lower income families, this budget is basically a middle finger to the middle class with an effective increase in direct tax through additional cess of 1%. Long-term capital gains tax on equities is another assault on long-term investors. There are no safe avenues to invest savings that give any reasonable return.

Acronyms and abbreviations are the hallmark of this administration, the latest masterpiece being Gobar-Dhan Yojna (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resource Fund Scheme).

Between GST, Aadhar, and the latest budget, traders and the middle-income groups are going to have their revenge. There is no outlet to their seething anger and no acknowledgment from the government that at the very least they need to be receptive to feedback. This rage is going to manifest itself as it has already been doing in recent elections in Gujarat and bypolls in Rajasthan.

Things are well on track for an electoral performance more dismal than 2009.

'BJP is on track to lose 2019 election'





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