As India navigates its political landscape, the verdict is clear: Leadership must be earned, not inherited
There is an adage in south India which when translated into English would read like this ; “The moment you see a kid, you can make out the plight of the village from where he hails”. This means that the kid can never hide the intensity of the poverty and sufferings he undergoes in the village,
This is true in the case of many of our politicians who are out in the street seeking votes from the electorate. The truth that they are misfit as leaders is written clearly on their body language. We can also make out true leaders from their attitudes and behaviour towards society. However hard they try to project an artificial behaviour, their failure as a potential leader would be as clear as daylight. The offsprings of leaders of dynasty politics is a clear proof of the adage mentioned above. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin, who is the president of the DMK, is a case study. Stalin is incapable of addressing a gathering of even 100 persons without the help of a written speech. He has a battery of beauticians in attendance wherever he goes to address public meetings. One can never see Stalin sans make-up and neatly starched and ironed dhoti and shirt. Stalin, who prefers to be addressed as Thalapathi (Tamil for Commander) has no leadership qualities and he became the DMK chief only because he happened to be the son of M Karunanidhi, the former party president and chief minister.
The same can be said about M K Kanimozhi, daughter of Karunanidhi by his third wife Rajathi. Courtiers of Karunanidhi clan always portray Kanimozhi as a poetess but literary critics describe her as a product of sycophancy and flattery. It is not difficult for a person with vast connections in the Government and party to get her works published. Moreover she presides over TV channels, newspapers and periodicals owned by the Karunanidhi family. This has resulted in qualified writers like Salma, a big sensation in contemporary Tamil literature getting pushed backward.
Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu minister for sports and youth affairs, who is Stalin’s son too has proved that he does not belong to the group of people with leadership qualities. The speeches delivered by him during the 2019 and 2021 elections were vituperative and blatant lies. In a speech (video of which is available in social media), the junior Stalin accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the untimely deaths of Arun Jaitley and Sushama Swraj. He is living up to the “reputation” of DMK, which according to former chief minister late J Jayalalithaa was a bundle of falsehoods and lies.
Stalin’s nephew Dayanidhi Maran, a party MP, is seen as an accompanying artist whenever Kanimozhi addresses the House. This is the scenario everywhere when the near and dear ones getting promoted in party hierarchy and the dynasty is set in motion. Family ties and names will not help anyone to emerge as a leader.
One need to be hard working, should have sterling qualities and dedication to the job at hand to make a place for himself in this competitive field. There are young politicians like Sachin Pilot, Jyothiradhitya Scindia and K C Venugopal who rose in party hierarchy though the first two named had surnames that commanded respect. But Venugopal is the person to be watched in Congress as there is every possibility of him getting elevated to the top job in years to come.
Supriya Sule, daughter of Sharad Pawar of the NCP is no different from Udhayanidhi Stalin. The question being asked in political circles is that should India need an outfit like NCP in this era of mergers and acquisitions. The NCP was launched to prevent Sonia Gandhi from becoming Prime Minister in 1998. Much water has flown through Mahanadi and Godavari since then and Pawar has become a strong ally of Sonia Gandhi. The best option available to Pawar is to merge NCP with Congress. If Pawar has the leadership qualities, nobody would be able to out hurdles in his way to the Prime Minister’s Office. That would be a major development in Indian politics. But he has to stop the obsession of promoting his daughter to high places as the young lady is yet to prove that she needs to be taken seriously by the electorate. Baramati is not India and the Indian voters have come of age.
The same is true in the case of Lalu Prasad Yadav dynasty in Bihar. Pataliputra, the great city of yore, became Patna and the modern presiding deities are Lalu Yadav and his clan. The less said the better. In neighboring Uttar Pradesh, people hoped to see a generational change when Akhilesh Yadav was elevated to the post of chief minister and party president. There was no generational change except the fact that an old feudal lord gave way to the new zamindar.
All are not Rahul Gandhis too. The Gandhi clan is lucky to be blessed by God Almighty with a wonderful youth. But all political families are not the same as that of the Gandhis and all young leaders are not like Rahul Gandhi. One has to work really hard to emerge as an undisputed leader like him.
(The writer is special correspondent with the pioneer; views are personal)
