Congress146;s gain

Thus resigned Margaret Alva from the post of AICC general secretary. And thus was she summarily removed from all the highest bodies of the Congress. Not without embarrassment for herself and her party. But all said and done, what does the episode say about inner-party culture in India and what does it portend for Indian democracy? The Congress knows only too well that 8220;disciplining8221; Alva will not re-seal the can of worms. Reacting to Rahul Gandhi8217;s encouraging words about cleansing the system of patronage, this newspaper had warned that the party top brass had to acknowledge and rectify the obvious, because discontent from elsewhere would come with grim consequences.

Discontent seems to have come from various quarters. What cannot, however, be gainsaid is the import of Alva8217;s complaint: that a ticket should have been given to her son, Nivedith, for the Karnataka assembly polls earlier this year simply because he is her son and since tickets have been given to family members of Congress leaders for other state polls. Alva even cited C.K. Jaffer Sharief8217;s alleged grievance over his grandson being denied a ticket. All this has happened close on the heels of Rahul Gandhi8217;s words against the 8220;family, friends, money8221; system. The Congress and many other parties remain hostage to elite coteries, to the powerful families within and it would be too audaciously hopeful to expect immediate change. But the sad reality of Alva8217;s case is that a very highly-placed and very senior party leader appears to have made a case for familial ties in nominating candidates for elections.

The Congress has rightly taken action against Alva. But it hasn8217;t, and for that matter no party has, answered the question as to how promising youngsters 8220;get ahead8221; if they do not come with the right political connections. What the political class of the largest democracy needs to do is ensure that undemocratic, in fact anti-democratic, wishes such as Alva8217;s are never fulfilled henceforth. Children of political families have every right to stand for election, but strictly on the basis of merit.