Mere mention of politicians in India will evoke a familiar response from the Indians cutting across class, creed, caste, ethnicity, and some such considerations. At the cost of sounding clichéd, cynical, and routine, it must be mentioned that Indian politicians are always considered a breed apart for their innumerous follies, commissions, omissions, and much more. It might sound stereotypical while enumerating political class per se, but undeniably they have established such a reputation over the years of being stereotyped that it cannot be altered anymore. Agreed, it is not fair to place everybody under one bracket and berate the political class. However, the general opinion prevalent in the country cannot be altered since so much cynicism surrounds them.
- Nonetheless, it must be mentioned that several politicians are also found to be different in that they would strive to remain away from the ignominious bracketing. The perception of the Indian citizens about politicians would change considerably if only some of them were of the caliber of the recently deceased SM Krishna. We know Krishna donned several hats vis-à-vis chief minister, union minister, speaker, and governor, and won various electoral battles to emerge as one of the most charismatic, pleasant, erudite, prudent, stylish, polished, and confident politicians of our era. For the uninitiated, Krishna came from an affluent family who went overseas for higher education but never allowed the pulls and pressures of the political arena to affect him adversely.
PC:NewsMeter
- Krishna started his political innings as an independent MLA in 1962 and went on to win several elections including Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He was considered a clean politician credited with transforming the face of Bengaluru after becoming Chief Minister in 1999. A slew of measures that ensued during his administration ensured the city, the state, and the country changed its direction like never before. The epithet of the Silicon Valley of India to Bengaluru was firmly affixed during his tenure for giving a fillip to the then-nascent information technology and biotechnology. The visionary leadership of Krishna ensured the country will ever remain indebted to him for ushering in farsighted policies keeping every strata of society in mind.
PC:The Hindu
- The dynamism associated with Krishna’s much-admired sartorial preferences was appreciated and followed cutting across political ideologies/philosophies. If ever any politician from Karnataka had all the credentials and wherewithal to even don the highest executive office of the country it was SM Krishna. It’s another matter altogether that one of the sons of the soil from Karnataka went on to become the Prime Minister of India. Did someone say fate plays a significant role in our evolution? You bet. A thoroughbred Congressman for the majority of his political career, switching to BJP at the fag end would have raised a few eyebrows. Whatever the subsequent insinuation would not take away the fact that Krishna was never considered a run-of-the-mill politician.
