'We aren't so unreasonable as to demand that he should have fully reversed Indira Gandhi's worst economic legacy, bank nationalisation.' 'But he could have made a beginning by selling off the two most stressed small public sector banks, and then announced that each year for the next 10, one government bank with the most messed-up balance sheet will be sold.' 'It would have electrified the markets, shocked his other banks into better behaviour, and marked his name among the great reformers,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
We have a government with an extremely weak economic team advising a PM who hardly pays attention to their thoughts, says Jayanta Roy.
Why the prime minister's legacy will depend on how he governs, not the number of state elections he fights as personality contests, says Shekhar Gupta.
Amit Shah now enters an unfamiliar and interesting phase of his political career. His success or failure will henceforth be assessed based on his performance as a key minister, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Much of the pre-2014 peace in our hotspots is diminished. Kashmir is on the boil and the Northeast is anarchic, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'If Modi wants to help the poor and get the credit for it as well, he must do what China does. He must openly adopt pro-capital policies.'
Economists expect Modi to announce big-bang reforms.
The BJP game-plan: Take the top slot, or a close second, either for the 'Lotus' or the larger NDA, if it can and push the AIADMK to the third place, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Differences will almost certainly arise over how the minorities are to be viewed and how educational institutions are to be treated.'
'These issues would be non-negotiable for Mr Modi's BJP.' 'So he may well refuse to lead a government in which his freedom of action is constrained by others in the coalition,' feels T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'The BJP has shown signs lately of returning to its trader mindset.' 'Several strong emotions get meshed in this: Nationalism, protectionism, mercantilism, and arrogance,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
India's most powerful prime minister in five decades gets publicly admonished -- if gently -- by the US vice-president. The question is, would this make him reflect on how and why, or which ones of his government and party's missteps exposed his flank like this? asks Shekhar Gupta.
BJP president Rajnath Singh has said that if the party comes to power in the next general election, its foreign policy wouldn't be much different from that of the Congress government. Aziz Haniffa in Washington
It is in no way a government of the economic Right. The Right is limited to religion and nationalism. The rest is as Left as the Congress or any other party, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'Why does Mr Modi only attack Nehru from the Dynasty?' 'At one level, it is pure politics,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'So complete is Modi's takeover of the foreign ministry, that Swaraj today is less important than a minister of state for secularism in Modi's government!'
'The prime minister's advisers might have told him that going along with this AIADMK government will damage his image.'
Modi's minimum government, maximum governance will go a long way?
The note ban is Modi's make-or-break gambit for 2019. Opposition leaders see a vulnerability and won't gift pre-eminence to the Congress, says Shekhar Gupta.
'In India, a really popular and well-entrenched leader is not defeated by a rival.' 'Such a leader has to defeat himself,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
'India could become the newest Asian tiger under Modi's dynamic leadership. Modi could become the Nehru of the 21st century, and re-establish a new Tryst with Destiny, by stating once and for all that Mera Bharat Mahaan is and will always be a truly secular and inclusive democracy in the best spirit of Bharatiya-tva,' says Ram Kelkar, offering an NRI view of the Modi triumph.
'...It won't help the party run a peaceful and equitable India,' warns Vir Sanghvi.
'Unity in diversity is a dated notion as India, today, is more unified and cohesive and yet more pronouncedly diverse than ever in its history,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
'I made it known through diplomatic channels that I was unhappy.' 'So, he called me and tried to explain, but I said this is something that doesn't happen between friends.'
'China is concerned about its impact within Tibet.'
'By holding forth on Swadeshi economics, Bhagwat is showing his intent to fight back,' says Shekhar Gupta.
New Delhi has repeatedly missed opportunities for political engagement in Kashmir in the past. It must seize the next one, says Ajai Shukla.
'Vajpayee used to consult the Opposition; Indira Gandhi used to consult the Opposition. Which khet ki mooli is Modi?'
'Is China's intention not clear?' 'Do we still think that if we are nice to China, it will be good to us?'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not taking along an industry delegation to the US but top representatives of India Inc are likely to travel to New York and Washington to be part of the power-packed business meetings and receptions being hosted for him.
'There is a compulsion to look hard, decisive, and risk-taking; start something; and then conclude it in a way you can claim victory.' 'That is not such an easy option against China,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'But will there be matching action as far as tribals are concerned on the ground?'
In its sway over national politics now, the Modi-Shah BJP is what the Congress was under Indira Gandhi. Why would they indulge coalition partners, their greed and egos now, asks Shekhar Gupta.
'Three security challenges could emerge shortly. The possibility (almost bordering on certainty) is as certain as the fact that night follows day: A terrorist attack by a Pakistan-based group. Chinese intrusion on the border.Communal tension/riots.' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) explains what the Modi Sarkar needs to be prepared for.
'Unlike in Gujarat, where he could ask for votes based on delivery, in 2019 he will have to appeal to his core Hindutva ideology, by firing over someone else's shoulders,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'While Piyush Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and a clutch of former bureaucrats including R K Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri and K J Alphons are loyal BJP members, none of them fit the mould of party apparatchiks.' 'In fact, many of the latter kind have been shown the door or have been given reduced charges.' 'That goes to show the prime minister's comfort level in dealing with professionals and administrators and the trust he reposes in them,' says Shreekant Sambrani.
'Rahul Bhai was well known for speaking the truth.' 'He did not accept anything he considered wrong.'
'No country or society ever prospered or remained secure by marginalising more than one-sixth of its own,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
He has the ability to instantly go to the heart of issues and deconstruct them.
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