A dearth of leaders

It could be because I had just heard David Cameron make a brilliant speech. Or because every time I come to Davos I am reminded of how few of our own political leaders measure up to real leadership standards but, the news that Rajnath Singh had become president of the BJP yet again depressed me. Undoubtedly, those of you who accuse me routinely of being a 'Congi chamchi' will leap into action to charge me with not being sufficiently depressed by Rahul Gandhi being elevated in our oldest and most successful political party and you would be wrong.

It is true that I thought Rahul's reaction to the 'poison' that his Mummy told him power was turned my stomach because it suggested that sense of entitlement I so despise. But, since Rahul takes charge of a family firm that everyone knows was his inheritance, his promotion came as no surprise. He has been the second most powerful leader in the party ever since he entered politics so nothing new happened at the 'chintan shivir' except a bit of melodrama on the part of weeping Congress leaders. There were so many tears that I started to ask myself whether they really were tears of joy but let's talk this week about the BJP and its new old president.

There are those of my political pundit fraternity who have analysed the nuances of how the RSS has actually been defeated this time but this is of no interest to me. In the long years that I have been a political columnist I cannot remember a single moment when the RSS was not in complete control of the BJP and it is my humble view that it is because of this that the BJP has not grown into a real political party. It never will as long as its leaders think of the RSS in much the same way as the Congress Party thinks of the Gandhi family: as the fount of authority and guidance and thereby the 'high command'.

... contd.

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