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December 8, 2013, will denote a tectonic shift in Indian politics that saw the centre of gravity tilt from politicians to the people. It was a democratic reawakening of and by the people calling for new rules of engagement. No longer were people willing to be held hostage to false electoral promises. No longer were voters willing to sell their votes and their souls to politicians and their parties and no longer were people willing to put up with mis-governance and non-performance.
Strong winds of change are blowing against the Congress where public apathy is changing to public anger for ignoring their cries against corruption, inflation and nepotism. While the BJP has decimated the Congress in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the winner this time is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). It is a party that has walked the talk of clean politics throughout its electoral campaign. It has won on meagre funding and it has achieved what it aimed for - silence its critics with confident and fairly and hard fought victory
The new governments in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan will have to live up to people's expectations of corruption-free transparency and responsible accountability in the way they deliver governance. This will call for a new level of performance metrics and public disclosures. Greater citizens' engagement and grassroots civic leadership will be the new political paradigm.
We hope the winds of change in these elections will pave the way for a more enlightened and development-oriented political discourse in India, that rises above partisan politics. The new face of politics should focus on creating equitable opportunities for all so that the aspirations of the common man are fulfilled.
The outcome of these elections is a clarion call for the 2014 general elections. The Congress has strong headwinds to face, the BJP has tailwinds, with a few air pockets, to navigate and AAP and regional parties can take advantage of local air currents that can lift them to new levels.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw,
CMD, Biocon
