Best of BS Opinion: Why simple poll narratives fail, solar tantrums, more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Electoral waves can be created by simple narratives. This has been the story of the last two general elections; dynamic reformer (2014) and defender of national security (2019).  In 2024, the only simple narratives are centred on unemployment and economic distress, and the BJP isn’t in a good position to claim that it has the solutions since it’s been in power for ten years without being able to tackle these. But Devangshu Datta points out, India doesn’t lend itself easily to simple narratives due to being diverse, with wild disparities. That is why, he argues, India doesn’t need a strong centralised government working with simple narratives. It needs coalitions with representations from regional parties across states and regions to effectively handle the inherent disparities. Read it here

In other views:  

Antara Haldar evaluates the contribution of Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman to the field of behavioural economics. Read it here

R Gopalakrishnan tells a cautionary tale about the dangers facing nations that fall into the trap of a megalomania cult. Read it here

Kumar Abishek explains why, in this interconnected world, it may be a good idea to be prepared for an extreme solar storm. Read it here

 

QUOTE OF THE DAY

 

“Doesn’t it look strange that the home minister is leaving his election campaign and coming for two days to a place where they are not contesting elections?”

 

National Conference chief Omar Abdullah