Dynastic politics ‘grave threat’ to Indian democracy: Shashi Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said dynastic politics across the political spectrum poses a “grave threat” to Indian democracy and asserted that it is high time India traded “dynasty for meritocracy”.

He said that when political power is determined by lineage rather than ability, commitment, or grassroots engagement, the quality of governance suffers.

In an article for international media organisation Project Syndicate, the Thiruvananthapuram MP pointed out that while the Nehru-Gandhi family is associated with the Congress, dynastic succession prevails across the political spectrum.

Meanwhile, BJP latched on to Tharoor’s remarks, calling it a “very insightful piece” on how Indian politics has become a family business.

“He (Tharoor) has launched a direct attack on India’s nepo kid Rahul and chota nepo kid Tejaswi Yadav!” BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

Tharoor’s remarks come weeks after a row over his comments on the India-Pakistan conflict and the diplomatic outreach following the Pahalgam attack. The comments were at variance with the Congress stance, and many party leaders took a swipe at him, questioning his intentions.

In the article titled ‘Indian Politics Are a Family Business’, Tharoor said that for decades, one family has towered over Indian politics. He said the influence of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty — including independent India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and current opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra — is bound up with the history of India’s struggle for freedom.

“But it has also cemented the idea that political leadership can be a birth right. This idea has penetrated Indian politics across every party, in every region, and at every level,” Tharoor said.

He said Indian political parties are largely personality-driven, with a few exceptions.

Leadership selection processes are often opaque, with decisions made by a small clique or even a single leader, figures with little interest in rocking the boat, said Tharoor, who himself unsuccessfully contested Congress presidential election in 2022.

As a result, nepotism generally trumps meritocracy, he added.

Pointing out that dynastic succession prevails across the political spectrum, Tharoor said that after the passing of Biju Patnaik, his son Naveen won his father’s vacant seat in the Lok Sabha.

The Maharashtra-based Shiv Sena’s founder Bal Thackeray passed the mantle to his son Uddhav, whose own son Aditya is waiting visibly in the wings, he said.

“The same goes for Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, whose son Akhilesh Yadav later served in the same post; Akhilesh is now an MP and the president of the party. In Bihar, Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan was succeeded by his son Chirag Paswan,” he said, citing more examples of political dynasties.

Beyond the Indian “heartland”, Jammu and Kashmir has been led by three generations of Abdullahs, with the principal opposition party dominated by two generations of Muftis, he said.

“In Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal, long commanded by Parkash Singh Badal, has been taken over by his son Sukhbir. Telangana is currently witnessing a battle for succession between the son and the daughter of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi’s founder, K Chandrasekhara Rao. In Tamil Nadu, the late M Karunanidhi’s family controls the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam,” he said.

Tharoor also argued that this phenomenon is not limited to a handful of prominent families but is rather woven deeply into the fabric of Indian governance, from village councils to the highest echelons of the Parliament.

“To be fair, such dynastic politics are practised across the Indian subcontinent,” he said, citing examples of the Bhuttos and Sharifs in Pakistan, the Sheikh and Zia families in Bangladesh, and the Bandaranaikes and the Rajapaksas in Sri Lanka.

Tharoor asserted that dynastic politics poses a grave threat to Indian democracy.

“When political power is determined by lineage rather than ability, commitment, or grassroots engagement, the quality of governance suffers. Drawing from a smaller talent pool is never advantageous, but it is especially problematic when candidates’ main qualification is their surname,” he said.

In fact, given that members of political dynasties are likely to be insulated from the challenges faced by ordinary people, they are often particularly ill-equipped to respond effectively to their constituents' needs, Tharoor said.

“It is high time that India traded dynasty for meritocracy. This would require fundamental reforms, from imposing legally mandated term limits to requiring meaningful internal party elections, together with a concerted effort to educate and empower the electorate to choose leaders based on merit,” Tharoor said.

As long as Indian politics remain a family enterprise, the true promise of democracy — ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ — cannot be fully realised, he said.

Citing Tharoor’s article, another BJP spokesperson, CR Kesavan, attacked the Gandhi family.

“Former Congress minister and CWC (Congress Working Committee) member Shashi Tharoor’s article on dynastic politics can be inferred as a scathing attack on the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Tharoor laments about how the Nehru dynasty leading up to Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has cemented the idea that political leadership can be a birthright,” he said.