Politics in India has become a family business and media has been raising this issue time and again. The Samajwadi Party has also received the brunt of similar allegations for the rise of few members of Netaji’s family, particularly his son Akhilesh.

Akhilesh is now third time MP and has distinction of winning from 2 Loksabha seats in 2009. Akhilesh entered Parliament for the first time in 2000 after wining bye-election. Since then he has presented himself as people friendly and tech savvy politician. He has been in forefront of Samajwadi party’s struggle for the welfare of Kisan and Naujawan. Do these developments not speak for themselves? Same is the case with Shivpal Singh; today he is one of very few grassroots politician in Uttar Pradesh. Shivpal may not fit into ideal typical format of white color politician but if connecting with people means leadership then he is the true leader. Is it not the voter that judges the caliber of a politician regardless of family affiliations, bloodlines and other such frivolous trivialities in the political war zone?

Why should a perfectly capable young, energetic leader like the charismatic Akhilesh be the victim of being unfairly assessed by other parties and agencies lest we forget Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya, Jiten Prasad, Dushyant Singh etc. Recently, sons and daughters of Chhagan Bhujbal, Gopinath Munde, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Late Pramod Mahajan, and President Mrs. Pratibha Patil were fielded in Maharashtra assembly elections. I don’t have any problem with any one of them throwing their hat in politics as long as they are meritorious and have commitment to serve the people. Take the case of Rahul Gandhi, who was initially criticized by the same media which now considers him being capable of assessing and steering the direction of the Nation.

Truth be told, and now is the time to out a dirty little secret we know but rather not talk about- the criteria of a family gaining momentum in Indian politics. Aren’t all political families in our democracy the elite of society? Are class, caste and family affiliations going to decide the future of Indian polity? Why should Akhilesh Singh Yadav be singled out for being a son of a soil, for being one with the people, for being a voice worthy of reckon and mention? I for once refuse to sit back and witness the elite attempt to quash the real people of this nation. Think wisely, results speak louder than actions, and words whisper forthcoming actions, but division, segregation and influenced, biased selection can only promise hollow words, inefficient actions and ineffective purported results.

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