For a quarter of a century, India’s voters elected governments which were born with an alibi – the lack of a majority which allegedly hampered change and transformation. In May 2014, the voters delivered a mandate, a brute majority that left the opposition decimated and the new government with no alibis.

The mandate was fuelled by hapless frustration with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime and, more pertinently, the idea of solution-oriented politics – promised in words and in the presentation of the Gujarat Model as an alternative. The campaign, the slogans, the rhetoric were populated with words and sentiments that the people of India wanted to hear. The 50-plus page Bharatiya Janata Party Election manifesto was as crisp as a promissory note, listing imperatives and approach to solutions.

A year before the next round of hustings, it would be fair to ask if the BJP government has done what it said it would do. The short answer would be, the intent has been executed. The many issues India faced have been articulated with smart slogans and programmes. The gap between intent and execution, between success and the slippery slope of sloth, has been about lack of ministerial capacity.