Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India needs a Leader with Imagination, Vision and Mission' that was published in Newsband

India needs a Leader with Imagination, Vision and Mission

We had five Assembly elections, and five different winners. The Congress won the Union Territory of Puducherry, Bharatiya Janata Party won in Assam, Left Democratic Front led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala, Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu.

The BJP will not be displeased with the success of the Trinamool Congress and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Both victors have better relations with the BJP than with the Congress. In Kerala, the BJP made its debut by winning its first seat. So the BJP is the clear winner in this round of Assembly elections. It is very clear that the BJP is better placed in direct face-offs against a diminishing Congress but there are parts of India where its presence is either marginal or very slight which is a dangerous sign for a party looking to retain power in 2019. Will BJP repeat its stunning 2014 sweep of the Hindi heartland in 2019?

The important thing is that while BJP may have replaced Congress as the largest national party in terms of both seats and votes, regional parties and others (not in the BJP or Congress camps) retain a majority of the political space in India. There is every sign that, in 2019, BJP will trounce the GOPI (grand old party of India), or the dynastic family whose ‘toy thing’ Congress looks to be.

One thing is clear and that voters have very little choice, and they use their franchise the best way they can, forced to choose the least ‘worst’. But if Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party continue to be serious about driving away corruption from the soil of India then the voters of India for the first time will have an ideal choice. The BJP has exaggerated its performance. Unless the party concentrates on the economic reforms programmes and disciplines its fringe elements it will be very difficult to pass the 2017 test in assembly elections in states like Gujarat, Punjab etc. The party has to work hard to win in these states. It should refrain itself from Congress bashing and better concentrate on governance.

India, today, is a burgeoning and progressive Democracy, where the common people have understood the meaning of Democracy, and seem to be improving in their voting imagination. But then, within the constraints of a combination of leaderless political parties and un-imaginative leadership styles of various other parties (both so-called National and regional), their choice of selection is very limited and difficult. The cacophony, extravaganza of electioneering and illegal methods of cajoling etc notwithstanding, the brain-power of the Electorate has been shown to be far superior to the people who form the Political dispensation. India now needs people with Imagination/ Vision/ Mission to lead the People to reach better levels of Socio-Economic and Environmental developments that help in creating a better civilization of INDIA. Otherwise, the confidence of the people in India's democracy would be in jeopardy.