The launch of my book The Contenders, Who Will Lead India Tomorrow, which profiles 16 GenNext politicians, was a power packed one, with Akhilesh Yadav, Ram Madhav, Sachin Pilot, Omar Abdullah and Jayant Chaudhary on stage for a panel discussion moderated by Vir Sanghvi. The audience too was a power packed one, with politicians cutting across party lines present including Naresh Gujral, Pavan Varma, Dinesh Trivedi, Sushmita Dev and Manish Tewari. Here are some excerpts from the panel discussion:
POLITICS OF FIGHTER JETS
Speaking at the launch of The Contenders in the national capital, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was sharing the dais with the BJP’s Ram Madhav. While speaking about his achievements as UP Chief Minister, Akhilesh spoke about his pet project, the 306 km Lucknow-Agra Expressway, which he had inaugurated with great fanfare, with the landing of IAF fighter jets, including the Sukhoi 30 and the Mirage 2000. Turning to Ram Madhav, Akhilesh quipped, “If you like, you can land the Rafale here as well.”
NO VACANCIES PLEASE
Speaking at the same book launch, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav made it clear that in his party at least there would not be any vacancies for the next 15 years. Clearly, both Narendra Modi and his team feel that they are there for the long term. Wonder if the 2019 elections will prove them right! However, since Madhav was sharing the stage with Akhilesh Yadav, Sachin Pilot, Jayant Chaudhary and Omar Abdullah, he was gracious enough to say that it’s not the surname, but merit that’s the criterion in judging alone. To which the moderator, Vir Sanghvi quipped, “You mean to say that Piyush Goyal is okay, but Rahul Gandhi is not” (while both are dynasts, the former is from the BJP, while the latter is from the Congress).
THE GENE THEORY
When asked the Dynastic question, Omar Abdullah pointed out that it’s not just friends but he was also inheriting enemies he didn’t know of, just because they had a grudge with his father or grandfather. However, he did add that the minute he felt he was not making a difference and doing something constructive as a politician, he would step down, “genes or no genes”.
FIERY FACE-OFF
The launch also saw a fiery faceoff between former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav and BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, with the former questioning the BJP’s motives in allotting Mayawati’s former bungalow to his uncle and bête-noir Shivpal Yadav. This puzzled the audience as the launch was not about UP politics, but for a book about India’s next generation politicians. However, according to both SP and BJP sources, the move to give the bungalow to Shivpal was spearheaded by Ram Madhav and hence the attack.