In politics, true victory must belong to people: Speaker Vijender Gupta

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Saturday asserted that there was no place for the “self” in governance, emphasising that “teamwork” was a crucial to people-centric development.

Gupta, addressing the inaugural session of the 15th Indian Student Parliament in Pune, said, “In sports, victory belongs to the team; in politics, the true victory must belong to the people.”

Speaking on the theme “From Stadium to Statesmanship: What Can Politics Learn from Sports?”, he described the playing field as a classroom for public life and said values imbibed through sports can strengthen democratic functioning.

“Sports offer a Sanjeevani (lifeline) to modern politics through three pillars, discipline, teamwork and sportsmanship. In a healthy democracy, the Constitution acts as the ultimate rulebook, much like the laws governing a game,” he said.

“Just as an athlete strives to keep the Tricolour high, a public representative must work with selfless devotion to uphold the dignity of the nation,” Gupta said.

Urging young leaders to adopt a healthy democratic spirit, the speaker said political opponents should be viewed not as “enemies” but as “competitors”.

“A captain is tested in a crisis; similarly, a leader’s true mettle is proven when the nation faces a challenge,” Gupta said.

Accepting defeat gracefully and respecting the winner is the hallmark of a progressive society, he added.