Old is gold is a common adage. But how old can old really be, is a big question in public life, politics and power structures. JDU leader and former prime minister, 85-year-old Deve Gowda, is re-entering the electoral contest for Parliament this time. Deceased nonagenarian DMK leader M Karunanidhi carried on in Tamil Nadu assembly till his demise. Many are not as lucky, though.
While the BJP generally bars those above 75 from electoral contests, there have been exceptions. The 91-year-old LK Advani was excluded from the contest this time, and apparently against his will. So was 85-year-old Murli Manohar Joshi, who openly expressed his unhappiness at being omitted. BJP veterans Jaswant Singh and Yashwant Sinha are 80-plus and are sore about their exclusion from the power edifice after Prime Minister Modi took over. By the same token, Modi at 68 now will not be fully justified if he contests the 2024 polls.
Gowda’s take is that he’s contesting the polls this time in national interest. When he was PM, 20 years ago, he was often seen on public platforms or media meets in sleeping mode. If he returns to Parliament this time, one can hazard a safe guess as to how he would conduct himself inside the house. He could even stake claim for the post of prime minister; such is our system. In the meantime, Gowda has brought in his entire family into the business of politics, helping his sons and grandsons into positions of power. This was topped by one son being installed as chief minister after much bargaining with the Congress.
Family politics reigns supreme in several southern states as also in Maharashtra, Punjab, Bihar, J and K, and Punjab – fathers passing on the mantle to the next generation and still holding on to power themselves. Chief Minsters KCR in Telangana and Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh have lined up their sons to take over from them and Orissa has a son as CM.
Across India, political parties and leaders are bent on carrying on and on in politics, zealously ignoring the concept of a retirement age. Unlike what Deve Gowda claimed, national interest demands that only those in proper health run the affairs of the nation. Reforms in political process, encompassing all aspects of democracy are an urgent requirement. The five years of Modi rule have not touched on several such aspects. The only reform he came up with was the GST tax unification, but this too was conceived by the previous Congress-UPA government. Systems need be perfected over the years.
