Rise of the gladiators of Indian politics

Priya Sahgal’s book, The Contenders’, has 14 engaging portraits of political leaders whom she suggests have a strong case in the coming years.

- LAKSHMI PURI

An implicit faith in the power of democracy animates India. Free and fair elections have been the cornerstone of the world’s oldest, largest and most vibrant democracy, helping erect a political edifice that contains a dynamic equilibrium of our diverse and pluralistic society. We are once again in the midst of conversations around aspirational political leaders from different parties during the ongoing 2024 general elections in which more than 50 crore people have already exercised their choice. Whether it is a leisurely chat between people at tea stalls, or a fiery exchange between a passenger and a driver, there seems to be no escape from the invariable turn towards the question, “who will be next?”, as in after 2029 and beyond because of the widely held belief that the Narendra Modi-led NDA will win handsomely in 2024.

Priya Sahgal’s book, “The Contenders”, attempts to answer this question through 14 engaging portraits of political leaders whom she suggests have a strong case in the coming years. As in many other things, leadership and charisma possess an outsized influence. The strength of an ideology or conviction rests on the shoulders of the political leader who espouses it. According to Sahgal, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Yogi Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Sachin Pilot, Arvind Kejriwal, Anurag Thakur, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora, Chaudhary Jayant Singh, Omar Abdullah, Asaduddin Owaisi, Tejashwi Yadav, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are the “contenders”.