By Suresh Unnithan
For Sure, in politics the decency has dismally depleted, thanks to degenerating standards of electoral contests. In India politics is no more a passion. It is another profession. It is an easy way to power and fiscal expansions. There is a saying “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” and that is what is happening in this country of Buddha, the icon of sacrifice.
The great George Bernard Shaw had said “‘politics is the last resort of a scoundrel’. The intellectual elites and the poor think alike that the politicians are never sincere or committed. They have no worries to bequeath or deceive anything and anyone for power and penny. No commitments to the society or the people deemed to be “master” in a democracy. As a senior writer puts it “politics in India stinks badly, to an inexplicable degree as it is unable to come out from the morass of filth, corruption, dishonesty, rank opportunism, expediency, maneuverings and manipulation of all kinds and above all, greed and criminalization that has come to afflict it.”
It is a fact; politicians at large are seldom adored by the voters. As a daily labour pointed out, “we know, we are voting the corrupt to power, but there is no alternative. We knowingly elect them to loot us, out of compulsion” The current plight of the Indian public certifies this observation. Even after 77 years of independence India ranks 111 out 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI). Our neighbours Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, have better GHI scores.
Still there is a miniscule minority in our political leadership who has taken up politics as a passionate duty. Priyanka Gandhi, the youngest in the Nehru-Gandhi parivar, appears to be one among them. She understands that her words and deeds are not compatible with present day politics. But manages to survive and surge ahead in the combative electoral turf.
To counter her political opponents she formulated a reasonably relevant strategy- be with the marginalised. Like her brother, Rahul Gandhi, the current Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Priyank also mixes with the poorest of the poor and listens to them with compassion and consideration. The young Lady Gandhi is successful in making those who interact with her feel that she is not any hypocrite. “When she (Priyanka) interacts with us we feel she is known to us for ages. So simple and unassuming she is. She is appealing and attractive. No one can dislike her. She is loving,” said lady plantation worker from Wayanad, the constituency from where Priyanka is contesting the by-election
Priyanka has learned a few lessons of practical politics from her brother Rahul. His 8000km long padayatra and live interactions with farmers in the field, artisans, motor mechanics, barber, cobbler has taught her that only when you realise the intensity of struggle of those at the bottom of the pyramid, you can be a true mass leader, the leader of all.
Many feel, Priyanka is the most charismatic member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the family that gave three prime ministers for the country. Even then, till recently she chose to remain behind the curtain, playing a supporting role. For years she ignored invitations to lead the party from the front, for the Congress Party regarded Priyanka as “prime ministerial material”, thanks to her pleasant but powerful personality. Maybe due to family priorities she has been shying away from active politics for a long time.
But at the age of 52 the opportunity came calling and Lady Gandhi accepted the challenge to plunge into electoral battle. She filed her nomination to contest from the Wayanad Lok Sabha Seat, the one her brother Rahul left to retain Raebareli, in UP, a seat considered their family bastion.
People across the country in general and the voters in Wayanad perceive Priyanka’s electoral victory a “forgone conclusion”. A senior journalist who has been covering electoral battles for over four decades said, “Her (Priyanka’s) electoral victory (in Wayanad) is a matter of course. “According to the scribe, Priyanka has Strong Communication Skills and she connects with people with ease. “. She has the talent to articulate her ideas effectively, establish bonds with people on an emotional level, and inspire them with her correctly chosen vocabulary, both in Hindi and English.”
About three decades back in March 1993 an English weekly, published from Delhi had professed the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi entering electoral politics in future after completing her postgraduate studies. In fact she has been active in electoral politics and has been managing the poll campaigns for her mother Sonia Gandhi and Brother Rahul Gandhi. Those constantly interacting with Priyanka are sure of her “strong political acumen and the ability to connect with the electorates.
However, the Wayanad electoral contest is a live test of her political gift. As Anna Eleanor Roosevelt said “A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
