FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
The 2014 edition of India’s democratic carnival is turning out to be different from most others in terms of the quirks it is throwing up. With the ruling Congress party finally releasing its manifesto on Wednesday, we are officially locked in a tussle for the prime minister’s spot between the soaring challenger Narendra Modi, the embattled prince Rahul Gandhi, and the rank outsider Arvind Kejriwal, with a number of regional satraps waiting in the wings to throw their hats into the ring.
But it’s the sidebars in every election season that provide a real insight into which way the wind is blowing. There are a number of candidates who are crossing over from one party to another to improve their prospects of being elected and getting offices in a possible regime change. There are several top politicians who are declining to contest altogether. But the most interesting trend is the celebrity contestants who are parachuting into parties in a bid to cash in on their popularity.
The list of candidates for most leading political parties reads like a who’s who at a Page 3 party. We have actors such as Hema Malini and Gul Panag contesting from Mathura and Chandigarh respectively. There are singers such as Bappi Lahiri and Babul Supriyo making speeches in Serampore and Asansol. There are former Army chief V.K. Singh and Mumbai’s former commissioner of police Satyapal Singh contesting from Ghaziabad and Baghpat. And there are sportsmen such as shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore and cricketer Mohammad Kaif making the rounds in Jaipur Rural and Phulpur.
While this trend ties in with Aam Aadmi Party’s theory of fielding candidates from civil society as opposed to career politicians, the phenomenon of star candidates is on the rise from Congress to BJP and JD(U) to Trinamool Congress. It’s a ploy that is a win-win for both the party and the candidate. One aims to win seats by fielding a famous face and the other hopes to gain a lucrative alternative career given their short shelf lives as celebrities. But does it really serve the nation in the long run?
History shows that most of these star parliamentarians, with the notable exception of Sunil Dutt from Mumbai North West, have neither added to the quality of debate in Parliament nor done any noteworthy work on the ground in their constituencies. Many of them end up serving for only one term, by which time their novelty value diminishes among their voters. Many others have to be transported to another constituency, often in a different part of the country altogether, to ensure that they don’t lose their re-election bids. According to an India Today Group study based on parliamentary performance data, celebrity MPs performed poorly across most parameters in the 15th Lok Sabha. Out of the 373 MPs ranked by the study, actor Vijayashanthi finished highest at 190th place, while Jaya Prada, Mohammad Azharuddin, Kirti Azad, Shatrughan Sinha and Navjot Singh Sidhu were tottering in the 200s and 300s.
Our cover story this week looks at this phenomenon of celebrity outsiders and what they bring to politics and governance. We go through the list of over 70 outsiders who have been thrown into the mix already.
There is a perception at the moment that interest in politics is on the rise and young professionals are signing up, which is a welcome development and a breath of fresh air in our murky world of politics. But some parties have still opted for glamour over substance. Their only criterion seems to be winnability, not candidates who will actually make a difference. India needs more energetic leaders committed to public service, not dilettantes looking to rest on their laurels. Only then will we see genuine change in our politics.