Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee is still a nice man to know as warm and affectionate as ever. But that is hardly enough for a Prime Minister. It is the quality of governance provided by him and the team he captains that matters. Even some of his most arden admirers and growing chorus from within the Sengh Parivar concede that things nave not gone well ... We have'a ... Prime Minister being pulled in different d. ations. Further, there is too much of infighting in the BJP as well.

The ... mismanagement of the economy, the goof-up in post-Pokhran diplomatic efforts, ministers shooting their mouths off, allies going for each other with relish, a presidential rebuff - all make it clear why the Vajpayee administration is perceived to have lost complete control.

Mr. Vajpayee is too much of a dreamer, far too easy-going to manage an unwieldy coalition, and that he shows signs of physical and intellectual laziness. He is a consummate reiterater of noble principles ... Every few months he wakes up, announces some scheme drafted for him by the bureaucracy and promptly goes back to sleep again. Sometimes it seems as if he has thrown in the towel, now that he has fulfilled his life's ambition.

... Mr. Vajpayee ... remains unfazed and is still smiling. Yet all-round failures as well as ... age factor make the present regime's prospects rather gloomy. (Source: The Statesman, 19 November, 1998)