Un-Politically Correct!

I begin with a very thought provoking quotation:

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors" - Plato

Mr. Akhilesh Yadav said, after his party’s thumping win in Uttar Pradesh, - “Politics is like that. We lost last time, but we won this time. There will be no politics of revenge or comparison, and no breaking of statues. There is enough space available for creating hospitals and institutions within those premises, and that is what we will do. There will be no place for law-breakers within the party!”

Impressive! Certainly impressive! If Mr. Yadav sticks to his words, then the public of Uttar Pradesh will be vindicated, and be glad that voting for a historically tainted regional party under a young and promising leader was indeed the right move!

I believe that the coolest move of Samajwadi Party (SP) was appointing Mr. Akhilesh Yadav as the face of the party. With his affable and approachable image he seemed more close to the public at the grass-root levels and hence more effective as the SP brand ambassador. And I believe he has done a much better job in improving the public opinion about his party than the Bollywood glitterati and star campaigners of the past. Be it denying ticket to Mr. D.P. Yadav or contesting Dr. Abhishek Mishra (ex-faculty IIM-A, Phd Univ Cambridge) from Lucknow, it seems he is out there to give SP a makeover by breaking the silos of caste, creed and social status. The 2012 assembly election results of Uttar Pradesh certainly testify that his strategy has borne results.

My comrades at IIM-Lko and I were closely watching the election result proceedings, after all Uttar Pradesh will be our home for the next one year; and who knows if better policies are crafted to encourage the growth of businesses and industries we might stay forever - as corporate leaders, as entrepreneurs or as change makers. Uttar Pradesh is my birth place and the place that has given me my identity, so more than most others I am looking forward to creation of better breeding grounds for commerce and industry in Uttar Pradesh, because I want to stay in Uttar Pradesh – for good and be the part of the change that will take my state back to its lost glory. It may be too early to predict the change as many of you might think but I am pinning my hopes on this young, dynamic and “guy-next-door” leader, I hope to see him perform at par with the likes of Mr. Nitish Kumar and Mr. Narendra Modi. He may chose to stay out of the government but the success or failure of SP in Uttar Pradesh would be largely attributed to him.

The youth will set their eyes on Mr. Yadav and observe his governance for the next five years, whether Uttar Pradesh follows the Bihar/Gujrat model of growth and prosperity or returns to the politics of hooliganism laden with corrupt desires - will be clear in the next couple of years. Mr. Yadav will be well aware that the electorate is cognizant that Uttar Pradesh has immense potential and he must understand that if he does well in this state then it is quite possible that his party may catapult itself to prominence on the national political scenario.

The current elections clocked as huge as 82% voter turnout (in Goa), which clearly indicates that the electorate is awakened and aware of its duty to vote and is now thus keen to participate in democratic form of governance. We have all the reasons to cherish such statistics, in most of the states victories are clear mandates, political parties have been voted to clear majority– this indicates that the electorate desires a party to rule by itself and when once given a chance it’s should either perform or perish, coalition politics may be on its way out for good.

-AD