For many leaders, nepotism is the norm. At times, they upgrade almost their entire families. Often, this leads to trouble. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stands out as a refreshing exception

The politics of dynasty has been taking its toll on parties, States and the nation. In Uttar Pradesh, father and son (Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav) have politically split, although the two are putting on a show of unity in the face of the coming Assembly election. In Tamil Nadu, Sasikala Natarajan’s family’s influence is looming over the AIADMK, with Chief Minister O Panneerselvam beginning to feel the heat; in the DMK, MK Stalin has become heir apparent after out-witting his elder brother MK Alagiri as successor to party patriarch M Karunanidhi after an acrimonious confrontation.

Years earlier, in Tamil Nadu again, J Jayalalithaa had to ward off a united family of MG Ramachandran to wrest control over the AIADMK. And in Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu took charge of NT Rama Rao’s legacy after battling it out with the immediate family of the charismatic film star and Telugu Desam Party founder.

The Congress has a different story, though. A clear line of succession has existed since independence, with members of the Nehru-Gandhi family taking over the party’s reins by birthright. From Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi to Sonia Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi, the party never bothered to look elsewhere for leadership. In the five years when Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister, the family got sidelined, but its loyalists continued to make a beeline for the dynasty’s durbar, seeking to undermine Rao’s position. And when Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister (he was appointed by the family), he dutifully did the dynasty’s bidding, eroding both his personal and the institution’s credibility.

This line of succession in the Congress has ensured that even the most promising leaders — young or not so young — never received the due they deserved. They could rise, for sure, in the party hierarchy, but the topmost position was not for filling because it was not vacant. The growing chant for Priyanka (Gandhi) Vadra to plunge into active politics is another example of sycophancy in the party which cannot see beyond the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. And if she does so, she will be catapulted to an important position, superseding dozens of Congress leaders who have contributed significantly to the party over the years and ought to have been rewarded.

There are also instances where prominent figures across the political spectrum lobby for tickets and key party positions for their family members — sisters, brothers, uncles, nephews, children, and even those from the in-laws’ side. This creates a dilemma for the senior party leadership;  it can neither brush aside the claims nor accommodate the brazen attempt to boost family. The exercise at promotion becomes frenzied during election time, as we are witnessing today.

In the good old days, it was not uncommon to hear of family members of prominent politicians living a humble existence, far removed from power politics. The few that strayed into the field were sternly told by their elders that they should not expect any gains from the relationship. It happened with Morarji Desai’s son, with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s son, and with a host of other iconic leaders.

Today, of course, the situation is different. Family promotion is the norm. At times, not just one or two members, but almost entire families are upgraded, regardless of their ability. In Bihar, lalu Prasad is a fine example. His two sons are Cabinet Ministers in the State Government; his wife, unlettered and uneducated in even panchayat-level politics, became the Chief Minister, taking orders from her illustrious husband when the latter was incarcerated. His daughter is also a politician. The few that have been left out will surely be accommodated in the near future. It was not just immediate family members that gained from lalu Prasad’s stature; even his brothers-in-law made hay, though they have now fallen apart.

But there is one political leader who does not have to lose sleep over such family issues: Narendra Modi. All through his political career as Chief Minister of Gujarat for more than a decade, and as Prime Minister since May 2014, Modi assiduously kept his family at bay. It was not a difficult task, though, for two reasons. The first is that none from his family ever showed any inclination to get into politics by using Modi as the stepping stone. The second is Modi’s long-held inclination to keep the family miles away from corridors of power. While he does not have to worry about sons and daughters, he does have siblings and their extended families. But not even his worst critic has alleged nepotism against him.

Writing in a recent issue of India Today, journalist and author Uday Mahurkar has traced the fortunes of the ‘other Modis’. The Prime Minister’s elder brother, Sombhai, manages an old-age home in Vadnagar. Mahurkar quotes him as saying: “There is a screen between Prime Minister Modi and me. I can see the screen but to you it’s invisible. I am the brother of Narendra Modi. For Prime Minister Modi, I am only one of the 125 crore people of India who are his brothers and sisters.” Sombhai hasn’t met his brother in the last two-and-a-half years.

Mahurkar underlines the obscurity in which members of the country’s most powerful man’s family live. When another elder brother of the Prime Minister, Amrutbhai, retired a decade ago, he had been drawing a salary of Rs10,000 as a fitter for a private firm. For him, being the Prime Minister’s brother means nothing in terms of gaining from the association. And, Amrutbhai’s son says he has yet to travel by air.

Mahurkar writes that Prime Minister Modi’s first cousin struggles to make both ends meet; he “sells kites, crackers and snacks on a four-wheeled push cart” and, with some income from his wife, he earns in all Rs7,000 per month. His cousin could well have been the Prime Minister of Timbucktoo!

Prime Minister Modi lives alone in his official residence in New Delhi; even his mother, to whom is the closest; has stayed back in Gujarat. Why is it that in an era, where taking care of the comforts of family members and even promoting them with their careers — in politics or outside — is not seen as a crime but a ‘responsibility’ to be undertaken by people in positions of power, Modi has struck a ‘discordant’ noteIJ Perhaps it has to do with his grooming at the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which lays emphasis on ‘nation before family and self’. For Prime Minister Modi, this has been a conviction, not an image-building stunt or an empty slogan.

(The writer is Opinion Editor, The Pioneer)