By Rasananda Panda, Ms. Shreya Biswas, Prashanta Chandra Panda*, August 22, 2016 : In democracy, the people are supposed to be supreme.  However, dynastic politics, usually presumed to be the antithesis of democracy, is a routine aspect of politics in many modern democracies. The roots of dynastic politics lie at least in part in modern democratic institutions – states and parties – which give political families a leg-up in the electoral process. Even United States of America is no exception. Political dynasties reinforce a level of inequality in access to political influence over the voters. Even today, dynasties thrive in the largest democratic country like India, Middle East, some European countries, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, North Korea etc.

The table below will give a glimpse of the dynasties around the world and those that are present in the Indian politics..

(Table-01)

Hate it or Love it, but can’t ignore Dynastic Politics

Dynastic politics is quite visible in the South East Asian countries. In India there is hardly any state that does not have its dynasty. Therefore the cacophony about Ms. Priyanka Gandhi being the chief campaigner for Congress in UP election in the recent past is understandable. Everybody from the Congress party to the opposition to the media is constantly commenting something about it, be it positive or negative. On the onset the Congress looks quite enthusiastic about her accepting a more challenging role in the political scenario. Interestingly at the same time it seems that they are divided over hopes. Or else why would they field a reluctant former Delhi Chief Minister Ms. Sheila Dixit as Chief Ministerial candidate?

May be this is simply to hold someone accountable in case of a fiasco. It is justified too looking at the record her other sibling Mr. Rahul Gandhi has. Most important question is why so much obsession around the Nehru – Gandhi dynasty? This is true not only for the Congress but also for all the other parties. Parties simply cannot ignore the dynasty even at a time when it is looking more like a burden rather than an asset. The recent drubbing the Congress party had received in the Lok Sabha elections and the DMK received in Tamil Nadu elections are a proof of that. Apart from this there has been sibling rivalry in the DMK compelling the patriarch to still project himself as the Chief Ministerial candidate though he is 93 years of age.

But still the lure of dynasty has not shown any signs of withering. Despite all the negative vibes and his track record of incompetent the Congress party cannot let go Mr. Rahul Gandhi.  Fall back on the dynasty for a very long time has wiped out any alternate thinking. To add more credence to the notion a SWOT analysis can be done on the dynastic rule. The analysis will be carried out from the rein of Mrs. Indira Gandhi as during the first time she became Prime Minister by default.

Political Analysis for Congress Dynasty in the Centre

(Table-II)

Coalition of Dynasties at the Centre, Centre and State, Inter State and Intra State level

In order to consolidate their position sometimes there is also coalition among the dynasties. One such example is that of the marriage between Lalu Prasad Yadav’s youngest daughter, Rajlakshmi and the grand nephew of Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav,  Mr. Tej Pratap Yadav (India Today, 2014). Apart from this close spatial distance between the ancestral villages of two powerful families are also seen as a reason to form a coalition. The Chautalas and the Badals are an example of this. Since Om Prakash Chautala is in jail in connection with the teachers’ recruitment scam the onus of campaigning was given a boost by Mr. Prakash Singh Badal. In many places he campaigned against the BJP his ally in Punjab. Similar nexus could not be sustained between Mulayam’s and Lalu’s family. We have many such examples of coalitions; it is still the Gandhi dynasty that rules the roost in Indian politics. No other dynasty has been able to over throw its command.

The obsession surrounding the dynasty may have many reasons. The moot question is whether political hegemony or economic factors contribute to the overall well – being of the country. Out of 68 years of independent India, 47 years had dynastic rules either directly or indirectly like the Congress or Congress led UPA I and UPA II regime. Is this because of conscious decisions the voters despite the limitations in their choices?  Number of elections (State, Parliaments, By-elections, Municipality and Panchayats) they are subjected to, is definite to make them vote for easily recalled faces for their historical associations. Voters may not be able to recall many of the contestants at the pooling booth. Dynasty survives when they promote allied dynasties at the state level and other level and take care of their interests. This curtails promotion of new leadership or threats new emerging faces at the state level. Dynasty feeds on the networks that are created to strengthen the lobby. Well you can say entry barriers are created, a level which is very hard to overcome.

Besides, economic pointers are the most valid parameters for reinstatement or continuation of a regime/ dynasty in a democratic country. For this we made a look at the economic health of the country. Economic data indicators from Economic Survey, Handbook of Indian Statistics, Budget document and different government reports from 1975–76 to 2014-15 was analysed. This is  mapped against various economic parameters like GDP growth rate, Total Expenditure, the share of the Revenue and Capital Expenditure in it, the role of subsidies in it, the financing of the subsidies etc.

*To be continued ………..

*(Rasananda Panda is Professor of Economics, Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, Prashanta Chandra Panda is currently Professor of Economics, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar and Ms. Shreya Biswas is Research Associate at MICA, Ahmedabad)