)
“Nandan Nilekani: Right man but in the wrong party. I hope he doesn’t suffer like MMS & AB in congress.”
“Glad to know. Finally we'll have some performers in politics - Congress may field Nandan Nilekani in 2014 polls.”
“2004 revisits! Congress planning to turn a good man like Nandan Nilekani into a puppet like Manmohan Singh”
“Nandan Nilekani, how come joining congress will benefit the masses?”
“UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani could contest LS Elections from Bangalore South on a Congress ticket!! JAI HO!!”
Twitter reactions to Nandan Nilekani’s decision to join politics ranged from delight to trepidation to extreme cynicism, even anger that he was tying hands with a party that has let the nation down in the last decade.
This skepticism is not to be brushed away altogether. It’s an expression of mistrust that people have developed over the decades for politicians in general and the UPA government in particular whose recent tenure has been dogged by a series of scams, allegations of corruption, nepotism and misgovernance that precipitated an imminently avoidable economic downfall.
The pessimists would say – what is this upright honest corporate-turned-technocrat doing in a cesspool of grime. But for pragmatists who’ve over the years witnessed the changing paradigm of the Indian political sphere – from the idealistic freedom fighter leaders of the 50s to the supreme reign of dynasty followed by an age of religion, caste and cash based politics where crony capitalists and criminals ruled the roost -NandanNilekani symbolizes a much needed change, a refreshing break from the old stereotypes.
Not too many would doubt his credentials. Nandan – co-founder of India’s best known IT companies, the man who helmed Infosys during its pinnacle years between 2002 and 2007 and subsequently shepherded the government’s most ambitious technology project – as Chairman of the UIADI has gotten fair grasp of what public life in India is all about – maneuvering as he has, the predictable bureaucratic delays in Adhaar roll outs as well as hard bargains on budget outlays in a bid to cover 60 crore Indian citizens under Aadhaar by 2014. He may not be a seasoned elected politician, but he isn’t a complete green horn either.
Nilekani in fact joins the ranks of several other ‘outsiders’ like Shashi Tharoor, Jairam Ramesh and Arvind Kejriwal who are swiftly making inroads into mainstream politics. Also, unlike many of the other bigwigs from India Inc who’ve entered politics, Nilekani isn’t perceived as somebody who’s in it for the wrong reasons. On the contrary, he is among India’s best known philanthropists along with his wife Rohini who once said she felt a ‘moral obligation to give money away’. That’s a marked difference from the current crop of businessmen-turned-politicians, many of whom have been accused of barefaced crony capitalism, with some even implicated in scams like coal gate.
But if such was his selfless desire to make a difference, why couldn’t he have done it as an independent, or routed his entry through the Rajya Sabha many would ask? The Rajya Sabha option is still not closed, but it is all too clear the fate high achieving independents without the backing of national parties meet when they set out to contest elections.
Case in point is Meera Sanyal – the head of RBS India who famously took leave of absence to fight from the South Mumbai constituency. What happened? She won less than 2% of the votes, despite standing from one the richest, urban constituencies. Danseuse Mallika Sarabhai suffered a similar blow, losing to veteran BJP leader LK Advani by a huge margin when she stood as an Independent from Gandhinagar in 2009. It’s amply evident that Independents cannot compete against established parties armed with party carder, volunteers, money & muscle power.
Case in point is Meera Sanyal – the head of RBS India who famously took leave of absence to fight from the South Mumbai constituency. What happened? She won less than 2% of the votes, despite standing from one the richest, urban constituencies. Danseuse Mallika Sarabhai suffered a similar blow, losing to veteran BJP leader LK Advani by a huge margin when she stood as an Independent from Gandhinagar in 2009. It’s amply evident that Independents cannot compete against established parties armed with party carder, volunteers, money & muscle power.
What’s more, if you examine what some clean, competent ‘outsiders’ with party backing have brought to the table, it vindicates one’s belief that good people are needed in the big bad world of politics, even if it means allegiance to a tainted establishment. Former Economists like the no-nonsense Jairam Ramesh for instance who went on a war-footing against unfettered mining during his tenure as the Minister for Environment; while that earned him the ‘environmental fundamentalist’ tag from corporate honchos who’d benefitted from years of a free-for-all approach and resulted in ‘stalled growth’, it also brought discipline & transparency back to the Environment Ministry sending out a strong message that environmental concerns were not secondary to those of development.
“I am very glad to see that people like Nandan, who are highly respected for their intellect and integrity, are entering politics. I hope he will take a stand against the corruption, criminalization and communalism that people have come to associate with the major political parties." Says Sanyal now President of Liberals India for Good Governance, despite her ill-fated tryst with politics.
A figure like Nilekani balances out the polarized political narrative playing out currently - a shrill outcry against corruption and crony capitalism (read Aam Aadmi Party) on one hand and a factional, pro big-business design (read Narendra Modi) on the other, with the Congress caught between two stools.
The big worry is – could the pitiable image of the party he has chosen be his biggest undoing?
He needn’t worry. You need to get your hands dirty to get the gutters cleaned out.
