Politics is a family business!! This not so surprising fact, hit me squarely between the eyes on Phase 4 of the elections. From sons, daughters, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, over half the candidates contesting had a family background in politics. And here's the second part of my revelation...does anyone really care? Is dynasty as an issue dead in Indian democracy? For years, the opposition targeted the Congress, but look at just some of the TV interviews we had on our channel...Farooq Abdullah, the Srinagar candidate with his son, the J&K Chief Minister,  Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan telling voters to choose her son and get her 'free', etc, etc. The list is endless.

So, is this an inescapable part of Indian democracy? After all, these are elected representatives, clearly voters have opted for them, many of them with record margins, so why judge those with a prominent family name? Yet, there are problems with this argument. Namely, at how easy it is to gain entry into what is a fiercely competitive field. MP Sandeep Dixit candidly told me on my show, ' The Editors' Verdict', that the fact that he was his mother's son, gained him automatic membership into an elite 'club. It's even worse in many regional parties, where sons or daughters often don't bother with fighting an election, instead the Rajya Sabha, the house of 'elders' is where many GenNext politicians make their political debut. Take Supriya Sule of the NCP and Kanimozhi of the DMK. Both very intelligent and hardworking young women, but how I wish they had opted for a more equitable political baptism than a mere manipulation of Daddy's MPs. Supriya is now fighting her first election from her father's old constituency, Baramati, but again it's a carefully nurtured family pocket borough that's been handed over to her .

Ironically, the one who's been speaking out the most against this is Congress heir apparent, Rahul Gandhi. He accepts the paradox, but says he is committed to bringing in young, talented people, from outside the current political gene pool. His supporters say the current Gandhi glass ceiling in the Congress is less of his making and more of the party's ( with so many squabbling senior leaders, they will only report to a Gandhi )...but the jury is still out on how far the Grand Old Party's inner democratic exercise will actually go. However, let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now, at least he's speaking out against it and has begun with Youth Congress elections and membership drives. What about the Badals, where a new generation of Badal children all lisp out their political ambitions...except for a chubby four-year-old, who only managed a vehement no, when asked if he wants to join politics. Our reporter summed it up best, ' Thank God at least one Badal doesn't want to join politics'. 

And perhaps we're lucky many of our regional satraps like Mayawati, Jayalalithaa, Naveen Patnaik don't have children....imagine how many more young political Pappus there would be then!

My final verdict, we, the media and voters, shouldn't judge politicians by their last names, but on merit. Dynasty may now be accepted across the political mainstream, but the focus should be on expanding the ambit of all parties and the best way to be democratic about this is by ensuring second and third generation politicians face the electorate again and again.