After three decades of coalitions and governments led by parties in a minority, India had become accustomed, wrongly, to the notion that cooperative federalism was baked into the polity. Modi provided a cold and harsh reminder that it was not. Power resided overwhelmingly with the Union government and in the hands of a man willing to exercise it freely and recklessly—this would be made manifestly clear to the chief ministers. With this power came no desire to assume responsibility.
