An American visitor once asked Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani why people like him didn’t get into politics. Nandan replied: “This is not the US where Michael Bloomberg could be CEO of a big company one day and get elected as New York mayor the next.”
But who says you have to be elected to lead India? You don’t even have to be a mass leader, even to be prime minister. Manmohan Singh, who is leading the country for a second consecutive term (a first since Jawaharlal Nehru), neither has a mass base nor won an election.
In Delhi, the debate is gaining momentum on whether Nilekani, poster boy of Indian IT, should succeed Manmohan Singh. A lobby is at work, especially as Rahul Gandhi, crown prince of the Congress, is said to be unwilling to take up the job and age catches up with the incumbent.
A small team is said to be selling the idea of replacing Singh with another non-political, uncontroversial person like Nilekani.
For the Congress, the idea makes sense as it would allow AICC president Sonia Gandhi to continue guiding the party while leaving governance to Nilekani until her son decides to take over.
In the last year, after he became head of the UIDAI, he has become close to those who matter in the Congress — Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, who chose him for the post. When Nilekani faced resistance in getting Adhaar started, the Prime Minister set up a committee headed by himself to ensure proper implementation and support.
Now with criticism surrounding Adhaar, that it compromises individual privacy, both have thrown their weight behind Nilekani. The plan is for both Sonia and Singh to attend the roll out of the cards in Mumbai and Nandurbar in Maharashtra on September 29.
So what makes Nilekani special? “He has personal credibility. He has integrity. He has a view on India’s future and above all, he has experience in working with government. I would feel safe with someone like him,” says Subroto Bagchi, Gardener and vice president of Bangalore-based Mindtree Limited.
But he warns that premature speculation could hurt the prospects of Adhaar. “We all know and expect that Rahul Gandhi would be the logical replacement for Manmohan Singh; if for some reason that does not happen, and New Delhi believes that the deliverer is always an outsider, then Nandan could fit the bill.”
Even Karnataka’s law minister S Suresh Kumar of the BJP feels that Nilekani would fit the bill. “This is welcome, a non-political prime minister. But in reality, it is difficult as we have a system where the leader is elected by the political party,” he explains. “We have to find ways to elect a non-political prime ministerial candidate.”
Kumar also finds that Nilekani’s proven track record in business, the zeal he has displayed to take forward the UIDAI project despite criticism and red tape, shows his willingness to adjust in any field.
Political analyst and Jain University vice chancellor Sandeep Shastry thinks Nilekani has “acceptability, credibility and the skills to lead a country. Even his book Imagining India gives an idea that this man has some basic understanding of the problems facing the country and suggested solutions to overcome these shortcomings. But he lacks that political credibility and backing.”
Nilekani needs a political baptism like Manmohan Singh who was also finance minster and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, according to Shastry.
His views are backed by Rajiv Gowda, chairperson, Centre for Public Policy at IIM Bangalore. “The complexity of governing the country seems to call for multiples, one person to handle the politics another to handle governance. So far this arrangement has worked well with Sonia and Manmohan.
“But ultimately we need people who have political legitimacy,” the duo point out, and suggest that like Manmohan Singh, Nilekani should also first gain the political teeth to be accepted in a political system.
Mohan Das Pai, member of the board at the Infosys Leadership Institute and Education and Research feels otherwise. “The country needs a political prime minister who leads the party and wins elections, like David Cameron.” He considers it bad for democracy to have a non-political prime minister.
“The current system does not seem to be effective. There is too much drift and India appears weak due to discord and multiple voices. We need a political figure who is strong in his/her own right, who has been elected directly by the people as an MP. We need a person to whom people listen and who carries respect with citizens and who can handle deep fissures and challenges to our polity and society. It is bad for democracy to have a non-political figure who has not been elected by the people.”
Pai also appears convinced that Nilekani at the helm would be a disaster. “It will be a disaster, not because of Nandan who is a very fine citizen but because he will not be able to govern and take the country forward. The system will not listen to him and he will lack credibility with the masses. All of our great leaders were political figures, not technocrats.”
He prefers any other political figure such as Sonia or Rahul Gandhi, LK Advani or Lalu Prasad Yadav as prime minister as they can handle political and contentious issues.
—rajashekhara@expressbuzz.com
—rajashekhara@expressbuzz.com