RANCHI: “Political dynasties in democracies are a norm and it has flourished everywhere, be it the US or UK, and India is not an exception to that in a set trend.”
The term [dynasticism] is believed to be in negative sense, and its inference of having a dynast in politics which causes a slower economic development in the area.
A 'dynast', means to any politician whose father or spouse was or is in electoral politics. Though, it does not capture extended family relationships. The figures, therefore, are possibly an underrate.
“Hemant Soren, who is set to be sworn in as chief minister, is the son of three-time chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren”
The Jharkhand assembly results just out and the JMM-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance won 47 of 81 seats. The BJP, which was voted out of power, won 25 seats of the 79 seats where it fielded candidates.
The 15 out of total newly elected legislators in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly are dynasts. Of these, seven are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), six from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and two from the Indian National Congress, according to analysis of electoral data.
Overall, at least 28 of the candidates fielded by prominent political parties belong to political families. Of these, 15 were elected as Members of Legislative Assembly, the data shows.
Correspondingly, nine of JMM's 43 candidates were from political families. Of these, six were elected, including Hemant Soren, son of three-time chief minister and party chief Shibu Soren.
While, Congress Party contested in 31 seats and fielded at least three dynastic candidates, of which two were elected.
The BJP has been using the 'political dynasty' rhetoric to target the Congress party and Gandhi family. However, there is a difference between political parties controlled by political families and candidates with family connections.
For BJP and Left, the party is not family-controlled, but they do have candidates with family connections in elections. Most of the regional parties and Congress have a political family at the top in their agenda.
*Data sources; ECI website
State politics across India is shaped by local factors more than, it is often assumed; particularly in times of plebiscitary politics and in Jharkhand. Many seats tend to be dominated by the same group, caste or tribe over time, and the political families or dynasticism often exploit them to strengthening the hold that certain local communities have over their political environment.
In sense of it 'rhetoric versus reality' - At least 11 of the 79 candidates fielded by the BJP were from a political family, of these seven were elected, 'the data reveals'. “Vote for the 'Lotus' to ensure that the dynasts do not come back to power and the prosperity of the region increases manifold,” BJP campaigner and Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, had said at a rally in the state on December 8, 2019.