Ruchir Sharma reminds Modi second term is when legacy of a leader is shaped
Sharma said he used to believe he knew about Indian elections really well.
By ETMarkets.com | Updated:
NEW DELHI: Ruchir Sharma, Chief Global Strategist and head of the emerging markets equity team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, says there has been a lot of bitterness and polarisation when it comes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi: people either love or hate him.
In an exclusive interview with ETNOW, Sharma said people must wait for a six-month ‘honeymoon’ period before judging how well Modi emerges in the second term.
“Rather than (getting) labels like ‘Divider in Chief’ I hope he emerges more as ‘Uniter in Chief’ in the second term. This is the hope I have both for India and Modi,” he said.
Sharma, who has covered Indian elections for 25 years now, said in Modi’s first term, India saw economic policies that were ‘left of centre or so’. This is the second term that is really when the legacy of leaders is shaped, he said.
Sharma said he used to believe he knew about Indian elections really well. But the election results last week (that saw BJP’s re-election with a thumping victory) made him think, “Hey! there is something about this country, which is changing, which I do not know enough about. There is a new Young India, which is thinking much more in presidential terms, not in the way I have covered elections in last 25 years.”
Unlike stock market, Sharma said, where one tries to predict the future at the end of every day, elections in India are systematically getting surprising. “But as long as my hit rate is 60 per cent, I will think I am still being able to understand something,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with ETNOW, Sharma said people must wait for a six-month ‘honeymoon’ period before judging how well Modi emerges in the second term.
“Rather than (getting) labels like ‘Divider in Chief’ I hope he emerges more as ‘Uniter in Chief’ in the second term. This is the hope I have both for India and Modi,” he said.
Sharma, who has covered Indian elections for 25 years now, said in Modi’s first term, India saw economic policies that were ‘left of centre or so’. This is the second term that is really when the legacy of leaders is shaped, he said.
Sharma said he used to believe he knew about Indian elections really well. But the election results last week (that saw BJP’s re-election with a thumping victory) made him think, “Hey! there is something about this country, which is changing, which I do not know enough about. There is a new Young India, which is thinking much more in presidential terms, not in the way I have covered elections in last 25 years.”
Unlike stock market, Sharma said, where one tries to predict the future at the end of every day, elections in India are systematically getting surprising. “But as long as my hit rate is 60 per cent, I will think I am still being able to understand something,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Too busy to trade in stocks? Invest in Mutual Funds with ET Money!
Bookmark or read stories offline -
Download ET Markets APP
Download ET Markets APP
ADVERTISEMENT
