In India, long live the dynasty

Long live dynasty politics. Rajendra Shekhawat, the son of India’s president Pratibha Patil and a political greenhorn, won a seat in the Maharashtra state assembly earlier this week. His candidature, stiffly opposed by his own party men, has only made it clear that India’s political parties cannot resist the push of nepotism.

It is common in India for sons and daughters of regional and national politicians of all political hues to get promoted to party positions, nominated as candidates in elections and even made ministers without facing an election.

Dynastic rule starts with the Gandhi family where Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi has made her son Rahul the party general secretary. Many bet that Rahul Gandhi is a future Indian prime minister. Already India has had three prime ministers belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family (no relation to Mahatma Gandhi), leading them to be called ‘India’s Kennedys’ in the American press. It seems very likely that India will have more of them with the last name Gandhi.

Nepotism is quite widespread across the country. In the South, virtually the entire family of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi’s is in different positions of power, as key party functionaries, ministers in the state government and even ministers in the central government in Delhi. That includes his nephews, his children from two different wives and assorted relatives.

In the neighboring Andhra Pradesh state, nepotism is the cause of some acute anxiety for the ruling Congress Party. Rajashekhara Reddy, the chief minister of the state died in a helicopter crash last month. Overnight, the chief minister’s son Jaganmohan Reddy, a businessman and political novice, has become the claimant for his father’s post. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has two choices — make him the chief minister or see him lead a rebellion within the state party.

The one stand-out exception to all this is prime minister Manmohan Singh. His wife and three daughters have stayed out of politics. His youngest daughter Amrit Singh is a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.

http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/india/091024/india-long-live-the-dynasty