Dynasty, Larger Than Life Netas Deny Second Rung Politicians A Spot In The Sun

Their party, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), was a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally, and had just ridden the Narendra Modi political tsunami which was poised to crash on the sho­res of power in Delhi.

Sukhbir was perhaps sta­n­ding on the narrow ledge that separates confidence from arrog­a­nce, when he told an interviewer why dynasty is a good political calling card in India. The 바카라�family system바카라�, Sukhbir explai­ned, runs on the fuel of credibility.

바카라�Why do people want to buy a Mercedes car? Or a BMW car? Because they know the credibility of that car. You come out with a new car that nobody knows, nob­ody will buy it,바카라� said the deputy CM of one of India바카라�s more prosp­e­rous states.

Sukhbir바카라�s bombastic comment attributed little credit to the party cadre and second-rung leaders. Like in most dynastic structures, the latter accounted for little in India바카라�s second-oldest political party바카라�after the Congress바카라�which was founded in 1920 as the action arm of the Sikh religious body, the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee.

By 2022, the sleek Bilstein shock-absorbers of Badal바카라�s Mercedes and BMW fleet were groaning on the rocky political path. Perhaps there were too many big-framed Badals crammed in a posh automobile, in which Parkash Singh sat beh­ind the wheel, Sukhbir rode shotgun, while his wife, Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur and her brother Bikram Majithia, sat in the rear with Kairon.

The wheels of the Badal바카라�s dynastic automobile came off in the elections this year. Parkash Sin­gh, Sukhbir, Kairon and Majithia all lost to Aam Aadmi Party upstarts in the assembly polls.

The Congress also lost the polls, but just bef­ore that, it seemed to have identified a serious organisational flaw. A Congress panel led by the Lea­der of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge had narrowed down on the lack of a second-rung leadership in Punjab as a key lacuna.

SAD바카라�s telling electoral debacle does not reflect the ultimate analysis of India바카라�s dynastic politics. But it does make a statement about how parties that rely heavily on dynastic elements or individualistic personality and charisma, tend to come undone in the absence of a credible and empowered second-rung leadership; especially when the tide of popularity of the dynasty or the personality wanes.

The political trajectories of Bihar and Odisha chief ministers, Nitish Kumar and Naveen Pat­n­aik, also make a compelling case for the need of a second line-of-command in their respect­ive parties, namely the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD).

Kumar, 71, has ascended the Bihar throne on seven occasions. In the course of his political jou­rney, he has turned friends into foes and foes into friends (in some cases, many times over), while subtly yanking power levers.

But the sheer absence of a second-in-comm­and in his party does make one wonder what rabbit he would pull out of his paag (a traditio­nal headgear worn in Mithila) to counter this handicap. When it comes to survival, the chief minister has thus far always come up with an answer, but has he planned a roadmap for the party in the era after Nitish Kumar?

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), on the other hand, appears to have its succession plan ready. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the ailing party president, would rest easy, knowing his son, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav바카라�s political career didn바카라�t draw a blank, unlike his stint at professional cricket.

South of Nitish바카라�s turf, along the Bay of Ben­gal, Patnaik, who was once written-off as being too Westernised to run a rural state like Odisha, has proved his critics wrong by becoming chief minister five times.

Patnaik inherited the political legacy of his father Biju. But once in, he split the Janata Dal in Odisha to form the BJD, a party with his own identity stamped on it. Patnaik was much younger, in his 50s, then. Times have cha­nged now. Patnaik is now 75 and unmarried, with no dynast waiting in the wings to take over the party reins, nor a credible second-rung lea­d­ership. Ahead of the 2019 assembly polls, que­s­tions were also raised about his fading health.

Much before he took charge of Odisha, Pat­n­aik was known to party hard. He hung out with rock legend Mick Jagger, and Jac­q­u­e­l­ine Kennedy Onassis. His personal webs­ite describes him as the author of a book The Garden of Life, on Indian healing pla­nts. He also ran a store selling healing herbs in Delhi. One wonders if he has some exotic, her­bal poultice ready to remedy the succession crisis that could potentially confront BJD in the absence of a credible second-rung leadership.

The question of the future of Patnaik바카라�s party is relevant in the present in the case of Bahujan Sam­aj Party (BSP) president Mayawati, 66. Her party was wiped out in recent electoral conte­sts. Her ailing health and the lack of second-­rung leaders in the BSP appear to have impacted its fortunes.

Kanshi Ram, who founded the BSP in 1984, had groomed Mayawati as his successor. May­a­­wati was a government schoolteacher prep­a­ring for civil services examinations when Ram, who was scouting for leaders, landed at her house.

The BSP founder바카라�s pitch to Mayawati was direct. 바카라�I can make you such a big leader one day that not one, but a row of collectors will line up with files in front of you, waiting for orders,바카라� according to her biographer Ajoy Bose.

Today, Mayawati appears to have forgotten to follow Ram바카라�s footsteps when it comes to groo­ming her successor, unlike her bête noire Mul­a­yam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Par­ty, whose son Akhilesh has taken over the party baton.

Compared to BSP바카라�s empty larder, the Drav­ida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) seems to be suffering from a problem of plenty. The DMK바카라�s origin is rooted in Periyar Ramasamy바카라�s soc­ial reform movement against Brahminical domination in Tamil Nadu. The party was initially led by C.N. Annadurai, before wri­ter and lyricist M. Karunanidhi took over its reins, inserting his familial DNA into its ethos.

Karunanidhi바카라�s reign spanned nearly 50 years. His son M.K. Stalin is now the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Stalin바카라�s stepsister Kanimozhi is a Lok Sabha MP. His estranged brother, M.K. Ala­g­iri, a Union minister in PM Manmohan Sin­gh바카라�s cabinet, is now knocking on the party바카라�s doors once again. Karunanidhi바카라�s nephew, late Murasoli Maran, was a Union minister, as was his son Day­anidhi. Stalin바카라�s son Udayanidhi, a film producer, is also an MLA.

Soon after Karunanidhi바카라�s demise, however, the party바카라�s second-rung leaders began clamouring for space within. Ahead of the 2021 state assembly elections, the party바카라�s senior cadre mov­­ed aggressively to corner seats바카라�5,000 of them appl­ying to contest 234 seats in the polls. This surge from grassroots workers is indicat­ive of the lack of middle-rung leaders in the party바카라�s hierarchy who are independent of familial ties.

바카라�With the family so deeply entrenched in the party바카라�s politics, the case for an outsider taking centre stage doesn바카라�t arise. The party바카라�s second rung is too powerless to throw up a leader on their own, ignoring either of the sons and the patriarch,바카라� political analyst Akshaya Mishra wrote in 2011, when Karunanidhi바카라�s failing hea­lth raised the issue of succession.

In contrast, the All India Anna Dravida Mun­n­etra Kazhagam (AIADMK), a party founded by legendary actor M.G. Rama­c­h­andran in 1972, faces a drought of credible successors.

While AIADMK was briefly led by MGR바카라�s wife V.N. Janaki Ramachan­d­ran, the party바카라�s reins were finally wre­sted by MGR바카라�s favourite co-star J. Jay­­a­lalithaa, who became chief minister six times.

Jayalalithaa바카라�s death in 2016 and the fact that there is no obvious successor in sight, has queered the pitch for the par­ty. The AIADMK is now the backdrop for a power tussle between two ex-CMs, Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS), now Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, and O. Panneerselvam (OPS). Political commentators suggest that the conflict between EPS and OPS could help BJP occupy the political space AIADMK is vacating in Tamil Nadu.

Across TN바카라�s western border, in Karnataka, former PM H.D. Deve Gowda바카라�s clan holds sway over the Janata Dal (S).

Last year, Gowda바카라�s grandson Suraj Revanna became the eighth clan member to join active party politics. Suraj바카라�s father H.D. Revanna, a former minister, is a sitting MLA. His mother was involved in zila panchayat politics, while his brother Prajwal is a Lok Sabha MP. The patriarch바카라�s son H.D. Kumaraswamy is a former CM, the latter바카라�s wife Anitha is an MLA, and son Nikhil a party youth leader.

The 89-year-old Deve Gowda바카라�s JD(S) is positi­o­ned similar to the DMK when viewed thro­ugh the prism of succession and second-rung leaders, considering that in the JD(S) too, there is a growing demand from below for leaders to cede political space.

The absence of a second-rung challenger to the Gowdas could have also led to lethargy at the top of the JD(S) pyramid vis-a-vis revitalising the party cadre.

North of Karnataka, in Maharashtra, the BJP is readying a transition to second-rung leaders­hip, personified by Deputy Chief Minister Dev­e­ndra Fadnavis. BJP바카라�s recent decision to drop Uni­on minister Nitin Gadkari from a top decisi­on-making body, the central parliamentary boa­rd, appears to be a broad hint. The Shiv Sena too is grooming Aaditya Thackeray as its gen-next leader, while the NCP already has a battery of younger Pawars waiting on the second rung.

Like Maharashtra, the political sphere in Jam­mu and Kashmir too has been dominated by two dynasties바카라�the Abdullahs and the Sayeeds바카라�who have run the Jammu and Kashmir People바카라�s Conference (JKPC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (JKPDP), respectively.

In the former, the leadership mantle had pas­sed on from Sheikh Abdullah to his son Farooq, and on to Farooq바카라�s son Omar. The JKPDP was founded by the late Mufti Moh­a­mmad Say­e­ed, whose daughter Mehbooba now runs the show.

The dominance of the two families in the region바카라�s political affairs is now being criticised by newer political parties like the Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party, which does not carry a legacy burden. 바카라�We know that these families, which have been at the helm for deca­des, have always exploited common people to attain power,바카라� says the party바카라�s president, Altaf Bukhari.

According to JKNC chief spokesperson Tanvir Sadiq, the issue of dynasty does not arise as long as the Abdullahs win elections for the party.

바카라�It doesn바카라�t matter whether there is a dynast or not, as long as the party is winning ele­ctions바카라� People have voted for both Far­ooq and Omar,바카라� Sadiq says.

The JKPDP also insists that Mufti was forced to rope in his family into politics beca­use no one wanted to contest elections due to threats from Pakistan-sponsored militants.

바카라�No one wanted to contest elections바카라� He (Mufti) compelled his family members바카라�including his wife Gulshan Ara, who was a homemaker바카라�to take part in polls,바카라� JKPDP바카라�s Syed Naeem Akhtar Andrabi said.

Haryana too had come to symbolise politics dominated by the Chautalas, Bhajan Lal and Co, Bansi Lal and the Hoodas, but no single Indian political party has carved itself as a model for non-development of second-rung leadership independent of dynasty like the Congress party.

Its second-rung dynasts, Rahul Gandhi and Pri­­yanka Vadra, have repeatedly failed at both herding the organisation together and at winn­ing elections. The party바카라�s historic penchant for regularly blunting the political beaks of promising regional satraps, and its failure to cement a second rung of leaders outside the Gandhi clan, has only added to frequent departu­res and rebellions.

The decline in Congress바카라� electoral fortunes, and the emergence of a Narendra Modi-pow­e­red BJP, has also witnessed a series of recent rebellions from within, with several seniors, as well as second-rung leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jaiveer Shergill, RPN Singh, Hardik Patel, Jitin Prasada and Priy­a­nka Chaturvedi quitting the party fold.

Well-known columnist S.A. Aiyer had rung war­ning bells for the Congress in 2013, when he compared the party structure to a family busin­ess, rather than a political party. 바카라�Enthusiastic investors seek to become shareholders in this great enterprise, and share in its dividends and capital appreciation. They can even hope to rise to the Board. But only at their peril can they dream of becoming CEO. That post, as in all good fam­ily businesses, is reserved for the controlling family,바카라� Aiyer had said.

In 2011, Pradeep Chhibber, a professor and Indo-Ame­ri­can Community Chair in Ind­ia Studies at UC Berk­e­ley, made a case for how, in the abse­nce of a robust party structure, ind­e­p­­e­n­dent civil society associations that mobilise support for a party, and the presence of a centrali­sed financing of elections leads to the 바카라�emergence and sust­enance of dynastic parties in India바카라�. 바카라�An explanation developed by economists is that familial ties are more likely to dominate in weakly-institutionalised environments, especially where gai­ns from controlling private benefits are large. A second and perhaps more compelling argument is that in weakly-institutionalised party systems, the leadership remains within a family since a name-­bearing dynastic successor inherits the brand appeal of the surname and the party simultaneously,바카라� his research paper said.

The BJP, on the other hand, appears to have a history of putting forward young leaders. Modi, Gadkari, Uma Bharti, as well as now-deceased leaders like Pramod Mah­ajan, Gopinath Munde, Manohar Parrikar, Arun Jai­t­ley, Sushma Swaraj and Ananth Kum­ar, were thrust into frontline politics by L.K. Advani and A.B. Vajpayee. Modi바카라�s regime has also seen younger leaders like Kiren Rijiju, Smr­iti Irani, Tejasvi Surya, K. Annamalai, Anu­rag Thakur and Devendra Fadnavis positioned in the front trenches.

Chhibber바카라�s oft-quoted research paper also ide­n­tifies the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a clear distinction between the functioning of the Congress and the BJP. As a civil society pressure group for support mobilisation, it kee­ps the party clear from reliance on dynasts.

Adam Ziegfield, an associate professor of political science at Philadelphia바카라�s Temple Unive­r­s­ity, also picks out the BJP바카라�s reliance on ide­o­logy as a 바카라�bulwark against dynasticism바카라�.

But Modi바카라�s 바카라�New India바카라� also encompasses a 바카라�new바카라� BJP, where power at the top is concentr­a­ted in his hands and those of Home Minister Amit Shah alone, at the expense of inner party democracy. The era has also witnessed a proliferation of regional dynasties in the BJP, which appear to have cornered opportunities that cou­ld have been grabbed by its second rung drawn from the cadre.

Fadnavis hails from a political family. So do MPs Dushyant Singh, Poonam Mahajan, Jayant Sinha, Heena Gavit, Anurag Thakur, Sunny Deol, BY Raghavendra, Pritam Munde, Piyush Goyal and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

So, has the party바카라�which fashionably raged against the culture of 바카라�dynasty raj바카라� not too long ago, and took pride in young leaders it has unearthed over the last three decades바카라�stabilised its political presence on the shoulders of regional dynasties? If that is the case, where does it leave the BJP바카라�s second-rung leaders, drawn from its own cadre?

The Gandhis have a lot to explain for shunn­ing promising second rung leaders, amid the avalanche of electoral failures of the Congress. So do Modi and Shah, under whose leadership, the BJP, with all its electoral successes, has re-inve­n­ted the role of dynasty in Indian politics. Dyn­a­sties backed by the BJP are subserv­ient to the sovereign duo, but they also override you­n­ger leaders with promise from its own stable.

(This appeared in the print edition as "SECOND W바카라�RUNG바카라�")

With inputs from Naseer Ganai