DailyPost 1975
POLITICAL TALENT
If nothing in Indian politics has ever put you at your wits end, this for sure will. What is political talent? What does it comprise of, if any? And how does it connect to the government, governance, growth, development and finally through this route to welfare of all. What do we elect in an election? Is it not a process of selecting somebody for a job assigned by the Constitution of India? The electors are the selectors. They are the recruiters, generally for a period of five years. Is it a full time or a part time job? Are they allowed to change their terms and conditions, by switching sides?
One such recruitment is on, for assemblies of few states and through it the government. What talent is on display? Is political talent antithetical to talent itself. Though the manifestoes have not meant much in Indian politics, today it is totally out circulation. Verbal duels of the meanest variety are on.* The work done statement / appraisals / prospective plans are under no one’s consideration. The recruiters are aghast, their naïve skills have failed them long time back. They are lured into freebies, the so called sovereign masses. Might be this is political talent. The trappings of power and multidimensional benefits accruing out of it, is the goal, then what is the use of talent anyway.
Why are the candidates CVs not on display for the recruiters (voters) to decide? His academic qualifications, the grades, the expertise, the skills et al. It would have been learnt on the job. Perfectly fine. In IT world too expertise / skills rule the roost, many well established companies don’t demand formal degrees now. Our candidates can be asked to prove it, mechanisms for this exercise can be devised But without it nothing is possible. Then comes the experience, it may have been gained from other places, in different jobs elsewhere or in politics itself, the political executive way. Winning elections cannot added to the talent wish list, which the recruiters are begging for, election after election.
The formula is very simple, if you don’t know, you don’t know. Foresight would mean scouting talent and grooming it for GenNext leadership role in politics and more so in the government. Government devoid of political talent can be a mockery. There are democratic nations, which have perfected this art to their benefit, growth and prosperity. The inability of deliver based on acute political talent deficit, can negate all that can be done. Simply put, the political leader and the leader of a democratic govt needs different qualities. A rare one might be common.
EVERY PROFESSIONAL GROUP NEEDS REQUISITE TALENT, INCLUSIVE OF THE POLITICAL CLASS.
Sanjay Sahay