Economist Jean Dreze writes: It is interesting how media reports of Narendra Modi's rallies differ from the real thing. To see the difference for myself, I attended Narendra Modi's recent rally in Ranchi. '

...To me it looked like Modi had failed to connect with the audience. One reason, perhaps, is that he came across as an outsider, who had been quickly briefed about Jharkhand but had no feel for it. Another reason is that he failed to go beyond the platitudinous promises of any politician who is begging for people's votes. He kept asking people to reflect on the mess they were in, blissfully forgetting that Jharkhand has been under BJP rule for 8 out of 13 years since its creation in 2000.

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