(Yashwant Sinha is a BJP Member of Parliament and a former Union Minister of External Affairs.)
The election season is the silliest of all seasons. Some of the events are both foolish and funny. The funniest of course is when someone approaches you for a party ticket, and when you inform him that he cannot get it, he responds by saying, "Please use your contacts and get me a ticket from any party". When the desired constituency is not available, the aspirant is prepared to contest from any other constituency. The real die-hard wants a ticket from any party and any constituency. Contest he must, the outcome is not important. When election time comes, the bug to fight infects everyone from committed party workers to retired civil servants, military officers, policemen, actors, qualified professionals and activists of all kinds.
Everyone wants a ticket to contest from wherever. When tickets are distributed by political parties, it leads to serious heartburn and discontent. Diehard loyalists shift from one party to another, the past is forgotten and forgiven, black flags are shown to some candidates and rebellion becomes the order of the day.
I was not surprised therefore when people in my constituency of Hazaribagh were shocked and disappointed when I decided not to contest the impending Lok Sabha elections.
Presently, I am going around my constituency explaining why. It is an uphill task. I had faced a similar situation in 1984 when I decided to quit the IAS. Nobody understood me then, nobody understands me now. I only hope that things will become clearer as we progress, finish with elections and a new Government is formed in Delhi.
When I was in the IAS, I was getting increasingly fed up with the frustration all of us felt with the lack of vision and the incompetence of the political class. We chafed at their interference in our work. Transfers from one post to another made no difference. The frustration only got worse with each passing day. So, I decided to call it a day and see whether I could make a difference as a politician. But then everyone started telling me that politicians were responsible for all the ills of the country. I used to hear the same complaint when I was in the bureaucracy. It is perhaps our national character to blame everyone else except ourselves.
Yet, politics attracts people from all segments of society, indeed some of the best from many fields of human endeavour. It enriches our political life. I wish them well.
Things have changed over the years. Even I feel obsolete and often helpless in the face of new technologies being developed on a daily basis. Peoples' aspirations and expectations are limitless. The representatives of the people at all levels, from the Panchayat to Parliament are supposed to fulfill these expectations. Those who are not in this field will never understand the tribulations of an MP.
I am glad I am out of it. Good luck to those who are trying their luck for the first time. Better that one enters electoral politics at the right time and leaves it at the right time.
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