Kolkata:

Dynastic politics has been a prominent feature of Indian democracy, but its increased presence in Bengal this Lok Sabha election marks a significant departure from the state’s tradition of cultivating leaders from grassroots politics.

Out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats, 13 have candidates from political dynasties. This represents a significant increase compared to previous elections, where political dynasts were limited to just three seats.

Traditionally known for its vibrant student politics, Bengal is experiencing a notable shift as influential political families are gaining prominence.

“This is a new trend or an evolution of Bengal politics from class-based politics to dynasty politics. Never in the polls have so many candidates come from political families,” political scientist at Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Maidul Islam, told PTI.

He said in Bengal where politics is dictated by the charisma of mass leaders, party symbols and issues, “it remains to be seen how people accept these political dynasties.” The TMC has fielded five, the Congress four, and the two parties, the BJP and the CPI (M), which used to decry dynasty politics, also have two candidates each.

According to TMC, BJP, and Congress leaders, several factors contribute to the rise of political dynasties in Bengal.

According to them, family members are valued for their loyalty and trustworthiness, making them reliable allies.

“The success of established family names in politics is attributed to two main factors – name recognition and networking, which make it easier for them to garner electoral support,” a senior TMC leader said.

TMC national general secretary and two-time MP from Diamond Harbour, Abhishek Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, tops the chart of political dynasty contesting the polls. He is seeking re-election from the seat.

BJP’s candidate from Kanthi Lok Sabha seat, Soumendu Adhikari, comes from the powerful Adhikari family of East Midnapore, with his father Sisir Adhikari being a three-term MP from the seat, and his brother Suvendu Adhikari is the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal assembly.

In Malda South seat, the Congress has passed on the representation mantle from an indisposed Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, Congress patriarch ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury’s brother who won the seat without a break from the 2006 bypolls, to his son Isha Khan Choudhury, a former Congress MLA.

CPI(M)’s South Kolkata candidate Saria Shah Halim, is also from a political dynasty, as her father-in-law, Hashim Abdul Halim, was the longest-serving speaker of West Bengal assembly, and her husband, Fuad Halim, is a CPI(M) state committee member.

“If a son of a doctor aspires to be a doctor, a son of an advocate aspires to be a lawyer, then what is wrong in children or relatives of politicians following similar footsteps? It becomes problematic only when eligibility criteria are compromised, leading to a concentration of power,” TMC leader Santanu Sen told PTI.

The TMC has fielded its sitting MP from Uluberia – Sajda Ahmed, wife of former TMC MP Sultan Ahmed; it has repeated its Jaynagar candidate Pratima Mandal, the daughter of former party MP Gobinda Chandra Naskar.

From the Bardhaman-Durgapur seat, the party has fielded former cricketer Kirti Azad, a former BJP MP from Bihar, who is the son of former Bihar Chief Minister Bhagwat Jha Azad.

The Bengal Congress has fielded its veteran leader Nepal Mahato from Purulia, son of former MP Debendra Mahato, and also Mortaza Hossain, grandson of former minister Abdus Sattar, from Jangipur seat.

“It is not just because of my family; I too have been an MLA here and served the people for the last 15 years,” Congress candidate from Raiganj Ali Imran Ramz, son of veteran Forward Bloc leader Mohammed Ramzan Ali and nephew of former minister in the Left Front government Hafiz Alam Sairani, said.

BJP candidate from Bongaon seat, Shantanu Thakur, who comes from Matua-Thakurbari family, with his father Manjul Krishna Thakur being a former minister in TMC cabinet and his aunt Mamata Bala Thakur being a TMC MP.

CPI(M)’s Serampore candidate Dipsita Dhar, a youth leader, is granddaughter of former three-term MLA Padma Nidhi Dhar.

The BJP and CPI(M) defended their decisions to field candidates with political lineage by saying, “Their candidature has nothing to do with their families.” “Both Saria Shah Halim and Dipsita Dhar are good leaders and speakers. It has nothing to do with dynasty,” CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said.

West Bengal BJP spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said the party has been vocal against dynasty politics, but in the case of Thakur and Soumendu Adhikari, both are well-known leaders.

“Both are leaders in their own right and got party tickets based on their winnability,” he said.

Although political dynasties have been prevalent in Bengal politics since pre-independence era, post-independence, especially since the late Fifties, student politics was considered the breeding ground for next-generation politicians.

CM Mamata Banerjee, former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Left Front chairman Biman Bose, and Congress leaders Somen Mitra and Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi are products of student politics.

Political scientist Biswanath Chakraborty said the trend of dynasty politics will gain momentum due to a lack of leaders emerging from campuses.

“Earlier, colleges and universities were breeding grounds for the next-generation politicians. But except for Presidency College and Jadavpur University, none of the universities and colleges had a student body election in last five years. So there is hardly any new batch of leaders, forcing the political parties to rely on dynasties,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said giving tickets to the children and relatives of ministers was not dynastic politics but acknowledging the recommendation of voters.

In its second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress on March 21 announced fielding its national president M Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law and children of five ministers in Karnataka.

“Yes, we have given. We gave tickets to those whom the people of the constituency recommended. This is not dynastic politics but acknowledging people’s opinion,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.

He was replying to a query about 10 family members and relatives of Karnataka ministers getting tickets to contest the Lok Sabha polls on behalf of Congress.

Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani will be in the fray in Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) Lok Sabha constituency.

PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka Jarkiholi will fight from Chikkodi.

Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Sowmya Reddy will fight against BJP’s sitting MP Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South.

Textile Minister Shivanand Patil’s daughter Samyukta S Patil from Bagalkot, Woman and Child Welfare Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s son Mrinal Hebbalkar from Belgaum (Belagavi) and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s son Sagar Khandre from Bidar.

Former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan’s son Mansoor Ali Khan has been fielded from Bangalore Central and Minister S S Mallikarjun’s wife Prabha Mallikarjun is in the fray from Davangere.

The chief minister said the party will release the list of candidates for the four remaining constituencies in Karnataka in a day or two.

On a question of the party facing a ‘knotty problem’ in Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency, the chief minister said, “We have neither any ‘knotty problem’ nor any conflict. Since we don’t want to release the list in one slot, we are doing it later.” Siddaramaiah was confident that the Congress will win at least 20 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

He said he will not lie like the BJP, which says that it will win all 28 seats in Karnataka, which, according to him, was not possible.

To a question whether the BJP and the JD(S) alliance will cause problems for the Congress, Siddaramaiah said, “That (alliance) will favour us.” When asked to elaborate on how the alliance will work for Congress, he said certain secrets cannot be revealed.

The chief minister said he was confident that the five guarantees his government has launched will surely help the party win the elections.

“We have spent Rs 36,000 crore this year. For next fiscal, we will earmark Rs 52,900 crore. We don’t lie like the BJP. We implement what we promised,” Siddaramaiah said.

Noting that his party depends on its achievements in the elections, the chief minister said people trust his government, unlike the BJP, which lies and never implements its promises.

“In the 2018 assembly elections, the BJP made 600 promises, but it did not fulfill even 10 per cent of them. Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi give you Rs 15 lakh? Created two crore jobs, doubled the income of farmers and brought ‘Achche Din’. Why will people trust him?” he said.

Karnataka has 28 Lok Sabha seats and the state goes to polls in two phases – April 26 and May 7. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

In an apparent dig at the opposition and dynastic politics, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar today said democratic values blossom when there is equality before the law and where there is no patronage, favouritism, or nepotism.

Speaking at the NDTV Indian Of The Year awards, Mr Dhankhar said, “Democratic values optimally blossom and flourish when there is equality before the law when there is transparent and accountable governance, and where patronage, favouritism, and nepotism have no space. There was a time when these three pernicious tendencies dominated our workings. But that is a matter of the past.”

The privileged pedigree has disappeared and those who thought they were more equal than the others have realised this to their pain, he asserted.

“The privileged pedigree has disappeared. Equality before the law is the writing on the wall. Those who thought they were immune to the law, above the law, are different than others, have realised it to their pain. What can be a greater pain to the human soul and the young people in a democracy that some people are greater than others and they are more privileged? That system has gone.” 

“In the process, the morale of the youth has gone up,” he said.

The remarks are significant at a time when the country’s political discourse is seeing an impassioned debate between the ruling BJP and the Opposition over parivarwaad, or dynastic politics.