Probably the most frightful job in the world at the moment (other than writing Donald Trump’s speeches), is being Amma’s doctor. For a tense two weeks, while the rest of the country seethed over Pakistan’s iniquities, AIADMK supporters picketed Apollo Hospital in Chennai, where chief minister J Jayalalithaa is fighting unspecified ailments.
So terrifying is the prospect of a Tamil Nadu without Amma that a criminal case was filed against a social media maven for having dared to raise the possibility. Fortunately for the nerves of the Apollo Hospital staff and the agitated AIADMK workers (one of whom gave up the ghost from sheer anxiety), doctors have said Amma’s on the mend but needs a longer stint in hospital.
[alert type=”e.g. warning, danger, success, info” title=””] SO terrifying is the prospect of a Tamil Nadu without Amma that a criminal case was filed against a social media maven for having dared to raise the possibility. [/alert]
In the meantime, who holds the reins? During her sojourn as a guest of the Karnataka government in 2014, finance minister O Panneerselvam – noted for the flexibility of his spine — held charge as CM. He had done so in 2001, when Amma was disqualified from holding office by the Supreme Court. The recent meeting on the Cauvery issue convened by the Centre saw PWD minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy, equally skilled in procumbent asanas, taking her place. But neither of these gentlemen represents the AIADMK’s second line of leadership. There isn’t one.
Amma is not the only larger-than-life political leader who prefers a comforting line-up of sycophants to credible lieutenants. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and Trinamool Congress founder (and CM of West Bengal) Mamata Bannerjee have not groomed potential successors either, presumably because they might morph into challengers.
Both Amma and Mayawati had their Svengalis. When Amma’s mentor, the legendary MGR, called it a day, she was seen as his natural successor. After a brief struggle with his grieving widow, she took over the AIADMK. In Mayawati’s case, the transition of power was seamless. Kanshi Ram had handed over the reins to his protégée well before the Grim Reaper came calling.
The perils of bowing out without leaving a credible successor are obvious; many a political legacy has been frittered away in a generation. Charan Singh, undoubtedly the greatest of India’s many farmer-leaders, failed to groom a successor. His enormous store of goodwill, passed on willy nilly to his son, Ajit Singh, gradually dissipated.
Devi Lal, likewise, neglected to find a worthy successor. He allowed his sons and grandsons to take over his political legacy, with the result that the INLD is at best a marginal player in Haryana. Bal Thackeray, too, fell prey to putra-moh. Rather than create a phalanx of Shiv Sena stalwarts, he left the party to the tender mercies of his son, Udhav Thackeray. His nephew, Raj, who had expected to succeed the ageing tiger, was understandably miffed. And in the 2014 Maharashtra assembly elections, the Shiv Sena proved the truth of Abe Lincoln’s famous contention that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Speaking of divided houses, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is blessed with multiple heirs. Son#1 was regarded as the natural successor and thus duly installed as chief minister, but no longer looks like a sure bet. Son#2 and Chacha #1 are lurking in the wings, should young Akhilesh annoy his sire past bearing.
As for the other Yadav, he has an embarrassment of heirs. Not having been a great believer in family planning, he has nine contenders under his roof. Lalu’s Beti#1 is believed to have been mollified with a Rajya Sabha seat when she kicked up a fuss over ministerial berths for Beta#1 & 2, neither of whom has the slightest experience in politics – or anything else, for that matter. The Rashtriya Janata Dal is thus likely to be up for grabs in future. Hopefully, one of the nine may prove a worthy successor.
While dissing dynasts, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik must be kept in mind. Dismissed as a dilettante when he returned to India in 1997, the litterateur-socialite has proved a competent politician. Which is more than can be said of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, under whose stewardship the grand old party has been reduced to a rump. Hope floats, however, in the shapely shape of the charismatic Priyanka.
The RSS’ historical aversion to personality cults has at least ensured a robust line-up of leaders in the BJP. Certainly, Narendra Modi’s mass appeal made him the natural choice for Prime Minister, but that didn’t stop RSS chief Mohan Rao Bhagwat from warning Sangh cadres against chanting “NaMo NaMo” on the eve of the 2014 general elections. The message being that the BJP is bigger, far bigger, than its biggest leader.
