Is he an autocrat? Does he centralise powers? Gujarat's babus, who know their old boss Modi very well, enlighten us on what Modi is really like.

We all know about Narendra Modi’s Gujarat model, which, despite intense scrutiny, has largely held up. (For more, read here, here, here, and here). However, some perceptions about the man himself refuse to go away. Among them: that he is an autocrat, that he dictates rather than discusses, that he is a one-man show.

A team from brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd (MOSL) went to Gujarat to find out for itself what the truth was and came away convinced about the robustness of the Gujarat model that has allowed the state to figure well above the national averages on growth in agriculture, industry and services. In poverty alleviation, the state has kept up with the nation, though not outperformed it.

But what the MOSL team had to say about the man himself, based on conversations with many key officials who have regularly interacted with Modi, is more interesting. This may be relevant today as Modi has begun making an impact in the central bureaucracy. Here’s what they should know about their new superboss, according to Motilal Oswal.

#1: Is he a dictator? Not really. MOSL says Modi listens both to positive ideas and objections to those ideas. He does not dictate, but once he knows all the options, he chooses. “For instance, when presented with 10 options for the BRT (bus rapid transit) design, he worked through the night to suggest 10 more.”

#2: Does he centralise all ministries’ work with himself? The bureaucrats MOSL spoke to said no, saying this was not only not feasible, but not likely to happen at the centre either. MOSL believes that “ministries would remain the key decision-making units. Yet, Mr Modi is number one among equals.” The abolition of Manmohan Singh’s groups of ministers (GOMs) and empowered groups of ministers (EGOMS) has, for example, shifted work back to the administrative ministries instead of moving them to ministerial committees. Modi's initial cabinet moves, where he has empowered junior ministers by giving them independent charge, and expanded the brief of senior ministers by merging synergistic ministries, also give out the same message. What Modi may expect is for ministries to work together and not keep tripping one another or delaying decisions. This is where being first among equals helps. The lesson from Gujarat: do your work, and deliver as a team.

#3: Does he run the government with the help of a coterie? This proposition was rejected out-of-hand by the bureaucrats MOSL met. They pointed out that Modi does not like to be befriended by anyone at the personal level. He meets people only in relation to work. “It is not possible to hobnob with him”, said one. In short, he has all the time for people who want to meet him in connection with work, but none for gupshup and relationship building. “He meets officials or visitors only with a purpose. That is not the same as being inaccessible. Like a good leader, he stands by his bureaucracy for bonafide mistakes.” Modi said as much at his recent interaction with the Delhi bureaucracy where he exhorted them to take decisions and promising to back them if some things went wrong.

#4: Does Modi make arbitrary decisions based on discretion? The political allegations are that he has favoured some businessmen, but the stories emanating from Gujarat do not really support this assertion. Says MOSL: “Among the first things Mr Modi did in Gujarat was to put in place policies related to every sector, reducing the scope for discretionary action. For example, Gujarat set up software (a power exchange) to buy power from all producers, thus leaving no scope even for the Chief Minister to make discretionary power purchases from any player.”

#5: Does Modi focus on megaprojects and big ideas? His vision for 100 new smart cities may give one the impression that this he is after the big idea. But the evidence from Ahmedabad suggests that he cuts his coat according to the cloth and is pragmatic. MOSL points out that Modi had a choice between investing Rs 900 crore in a bus rapid transit system or a Rs 30,000 crore metro. He opted for the former, even though a metro could well be a better long-term solution, Says MOSL: “Exigencies of the day (tight budgets) were accorded priority over the ideal long-term solution for city transport. It was conceptualised in the early 2000s, when Gujarat was facing challenges on multiple fronts and the government had to apply its limited resources to create situations for an upturn.” But BRT turned out to be a model success now being emulated by other cities.

Delhi’s babus need to talk to their Gujarat counterparts to know how to handle their new boss.