BHUBANESWAR: Leaders frequently switching political parties in contemporary politics suggests that the age of ideological commitment has become a thing of past. But what does this mean in an age of sharp political divide in the country?
The question took centre stage at the session on ‘A Question of Leadership: Learning the Language’ at the Odisha Literary Festival here on Sunday.
Participating in the discussion, Rajya Sabha member Santrupt Misra said unfortunately the number of people without any ideological leaning is growing in today’s politics. Some individuals who built their careers through a political party switch loyalties once it no longer serves their interests. “Defection from a political party to another is always based on self interest,” he said.
Misra, however, said this does not mean that there are no honest politicians in the country. Referring to the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha held in July, he said an MLA did not cross vote even though he was offered `25 crore for it.
Dwelling on the Gen Z agitation, the RS member said a movement like this is representative of a new energy in the society today. He also pointed towards lack of any discussion in the parliament these days.
“The labour codes were passed by Parliament without a discussion. And that’s the state of how we manage labour today in this country - we pass fundamentally transformative legislation without any discussion.”
Misra highlighted the unique, ‘spartan’ leadership style of Naveen Patnaik. He said the BJD president, who is a person of few words, has managed to develop a unique style of communication with people for the last several years successfully.
However, author and former CEO and MD of Tata Coffee Sanjiv Sarin did not believe that Gen Z has given rise to a new form of leadership. “The Gen Z may have reached an end which others failed, but youths expressing themselves is nothing new,” he said and added that there were agitations during his college days too.
Sarin referred to how trade unions these days no longer take on the management like in the past. He said companies had a work formula in old days. But all that, both in politics and corporate existence, seems to have gone down. “The classical industrial civilisation was based on large factories under one roof with a large number of workers sharing a common misery,” he said. But the nature of the workforce is changing. Now, there is no time to organise, he added.
Senior journalist and author Ravi Shankar Etteth moderated the session.