Politics is said to be a dirty game and a majority of those who have been entering politics over the last two decades or so seem to have a single-point programme, that being to grab power. The talk about public good is merely lip-service to the destitute and the socially deprived.
Social work, work through NGOs and public action programmes were believed to be a different ball game. These were presumed to be platforms for those who genuinely want to do public good selflessly, without the greed of power. This is not so anymore, though this is not a new phenomenon.
A large number of youth, who were active in the JP Movement in the 1970s, ended up in politics, many of them having made it big in politics, with few of them ending up with charges of corruption and misuse of power. The products of the JP Movement, who struck political gold are Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Nitish Kumar and Arun Jaitley, just to name a few.
There are many in the country, who have been fighting for social causes without political ambitions, one of them being Anna Hazare. Some enterprising individuals felt that the Anna Hazare platform was a good launching pad for their political career. Among those who entered politics after using Hazare’s platform, is Arvind Kejriwal, who within months of joining electoral politics became the Chief Minister of Delhi.
The latest entry is that of Kiran Bedi, another person who used Anna Hazare’s platform. Bedi joined the BJP yesterday and in the days of politics of convenience she has been promised the Chief Minister’s post, should the BJP come to power.
The Modi wave notwithstanding, the BJP seems to be concerned about its performance in the Delhi poll, expecting a tough fight from the AAP and found a good candidate in Bedi to face the Arvind Kejriwal onslaught, who is still a hero for a large number of people, especially the youth.
But the BJP has caused harmed to itself by sidelining many who have put in tremendous effort in consolidating the party’s position in Delhi and who aspire to be the Chief Minister of Delhi. The latest move is similar to the appointment of Amit Shah as the national president of the party, scuttling the dreams of others eying the chair.
