The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore a paradox at the heart of the present political conjuncture in India. On the one hand, we have the most powerful and popular Prime Minister in office who is now known to an overwhelming majority of the country’s citizens. On the other hand, the State and government over which he presides are nowhere near being able to deliver on the expectations he has generated. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used to often say, “promise less, deliver more”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has willy-nilly pursued the opposite motto. . .