Leadership Quotient

The news about the resolution of the decade’s long Darjeeling issue which was announced by the new West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is indeed welcome and also historic. While we are yet to know the details about the entire deal, what is of interest to note is the manner in which the new Chief Minister was able to swiftly resolve the issue in a smooth and effective manner without the trappings of officialdom coming in the way. Therefore the answer that everyone will be interested is what Mamata did and that too within weeks of taking office, something the Left Front government could not do in all the years when it was in power. It may not be possible for us in this column to decipher the ‘magic formula’ that would have been employed to arrive at a mutually acceptable and workable solution. However what is quite clear is the leadership factor and here Mamata Banerjee is a refreshing change from the earlier communist leaders like Jyoti Basu or even his successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. In India we are more and more seeing the emergence of new breed of Chief Ministers who want to break away from the past and bring about new ideas and solution to old problems. Not surprisingly many of the CMs who are doing well are also from smaller parties (Non-Congress, Non-BJP). These leaders can take decisions based on ground realities and sensing the public mood. They don’t have to get approval of the so called high command sitting in Delhi. Decision making is therefore easier and in a sense more democratic as it is based on people’s need and not in the culture of party politics. This is good news for governance.   
Coming to the decades-long Darjeeling issue and other similar unresolved question of autonomy, the need of the hour is engaging people in problem solving mechanisms. Further trust building is important for a leader if he/she wants to gain confidence of the grieving public. It is obvious that Mamata Banerjee has been able to gain the confidence of the Gorkhaland Janamukti Morcha (GJM) because she has herself come from the grass root and she understands the human side of a political issue. People trust such a leader whoever it may be and so they are willing to listen to a trusted leader. Such a leader may not be able to give everything but nevertheless people are willing to go along with assurances and what is on offer because it is from the heart. A similar approach can be taken up by other leaders facing similar challenges. A good heart is all that is needed to get the respect and trust of people. A leader should not ignore the humane side of the story. Just as treating a health problem, proper diagnosis and treatment is required so that a cure is found before the disease becomes worse. Many of our political problems fester into ‘life threatening’ ailment, which become complicated and extremely difficult to cure. Issues must therefore be addressed upfront. Mamata has also shown that as an elected Chief Minister, whatever the other government agencies may prescribe or suggest, the appropriate way to go about is to create a political process and the finality of decision making has to come from those who are elected since they are accountable to people and parliament/assembly. Hopefully present day politicians can become better adept in resolving old problems with new ideas and the courage of conviction. Competence, trustworthiness, strong value systems besides a new thinking and pragmatism are required of our leaders.
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