Modi at 76: Why Governance Is Emerging as His Next Big Challenge
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at SRCC College spoke of Naraz Fufa. (Image video grab BJP on X)
By MANISH ANAND
As Narendra Modi turns 76, economic concerns, Manipur, the SIR controversy and growing discontent among sections of the middle class are emerging as challenges for his government, argues Manish Anand.
New Delhi, September 17, 2026 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned 76 years on Thursday, with his followers marking the occasion with selfie videos and an advertisement avalanche.
Ahead of him turning 75, the Prime Minister had faced a feverish speculation about his hold on power as the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) kept sending mixed signals until its chief Mohan Bhagwat clarified that there existed no age bar on holding offices.
Ahead of Modi turning 76, he ran into an extraordinary challenge to authority from external sources — GenZ protests on the street, core support base turning vocal against growing economic distress, and his popularity slipping even by the standards of most loyal surveyors.
Since the day the GDP data was released, the Indian stock markets ave nosedived, correcting over five percent. Already lacking in credibility for the data revealed by the government agencies, the GDP numbers, seen disconnected with the street realities, almost buried the sanctity of statistics.
Even the most loyal of followers, from within the fraternity of media to diplomacy, have been swept by the shockwave of exclusion from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Election Commission. Though Modi-led government asserts that the SIR has been a regular feature, former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Qureshi in his media remarks has called for pressing criminal charges against the incumbent mandarins of the poll body. Against the principle of noneligible voter be left out, Delhi and Karnataka SIR outcomes have come as stunning, leaving thousands rushing to overcrowed camps.
Manipur stays in the embrace of violence. Men and women continue to be killed. Over four years now have gone by since the Northeastern state erupted in the violence.
Modi in his third term faces rupture in his core support base — the middle class. His government’s zeal to tax the people to the hilt found a new avenue in bringing even the UPI payments under the ambit of taxation.
His core support base had already been squirming over the ethanol-blended fuel. Modi government’s wont to politically exploit social faultlines with UGC resolution already had dented the emotional connect of core supporters of the Prime Minister.
With almost half the tenure in the third term gone, Modi faces prospects of spending remaining years in office in firefighting, with challenges only compounding. Political Hindutva remains Modi’s weapon against sinking economy.
By seeking to ridicule critics with labels of “Dimagi Naxal” and “Naraz Fufa”, Modi may need to further boost his verbal arsenal. The road to the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, per visible signs, is too rough now.
(This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author’s own.)
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