India, March 5 -- The GDP numbers released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday raise an intriguing question. The Indian economy grew at 9.2% in the fiscal year 2023-24, yet the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost more than 20% of its seats in the Lok Sabha in the 2024 general elections. Why did high economic growth - 9.2% is pretty good by any standard - not translate into political traction for an incumbent?

A large part of the Indian economy, in terms of number of firms and workers, actually produces very little of its GDP. This means that the fortunes of people, and perhaps political sentiment, are not really connected with the headline growth numbers. This two-part series will seek to establish this based on an...