April 6, 1998

Unfazed by charges of dynastic perks, the three MPs take on the challenge   of their new jobs. 

By Harinder Baweja

He was happy being the president of the Taekwondo Association. Apart from body building, he was deeply involved in training village-level health workers. The other one too was content being a sales and marketing executive with different companies while the third had a passion for sculpting in bronze and fibreglass. Till the family called and then life became different.

They're different too. Young and trendy. Quite unlike the quintessential khadi-clad, dhoti-kurta politician. But they're already rubbing shoulders with the veterans as first-time members of Parliament or ministers. And playing a not too insignificant role in the formation of the new Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. It's a coincidence, perhaps, that all three are MBAs. But it's the surname that matters and all three have chief ministers for fathers.

Then again, they're neither apologetic nor embarrassed about it and agree that the journey to Parliament was made easier, courtesy the dads. "I would have made it to the Lok Sabha on my own too but then I wouldn't have been as young as I am," says 28-year-old Omar Abdullah, who won the Srinagar seat with a margin of 70,000 votes with a lot of help from Farooq Abdullah. "Being my father's son and my grandfather Sheikh Abdullah's grandson helped but it only works the first time," he concedes.

Sukhbir Singh Badal, though, elected to the Lok Sabha for the second successive term, is making his debut as a minister, mainly due to his father, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. And it's already created a furore in the Akali Dal. Prem Singh Lalpura, the party MP from Tarn Taran, is refusing to resign as a legislator, implying through his supporters that Badal could have called up Vajpayee and secured him a ministerial berth too. Just as he did for his son, who has been anointed minister of state for industry. Sukhbir sees other reasons for this. "I had no idea I was going to be sworn in," he swears, ascribing the allocation of the industry portfolio to his MBA degree. "At least, give us a chance. The family name should not be held against me, we have been faithful allies of the BJP."

The delicate art of surviving coalition politics has indeed helped fathers as much as it has helped the sons. Farooq, with only two National Conference MPs -- one being Omar -- is being wooed not only by the Vajpayee government but by the United Front too. Former prime minister I.K. Gujral even tried to reason with the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister that he could not cast his lot with a party that wants to abrogate Article 370, a sensitive issue that could spell trouble for him in the Valley. And so, it will be "issue-based support", says Omar, sounding quite like a full-time politician. "Politics is like marketing. Earlier, I was promoting products for others, now I'm marketing ideas and messages for myself."

So is Omak Apang, the youngest minister at 27, who says, "Senior people have trust in the youth and they are giving us a chance. I don't care about a portfolio, it's stability I'm interested in." And so what if he is Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang's son? As minister of state for tourism, he's looking forward to the chance of bringing the north-east closer to the rest of India and already feels the responsibility of his name Omak, which means "eldest". Like Sukhbir, who was with him in school at Sanawar, Omak too is enthusiastic about being a politician. "I guess I will soon have to switch to khadi for it'll soon get too hot for suits and blazers," he says.

Unlike Omak, Omar and Sukhbir have begun their careers with charges of being dynastic promotees. They have also generated some unseemly controversies. While Sukhbir's rise has created trouble in the Akali Dal, Omar's entry into politics has invited the wrath of his uncles. Lalpura may have invited disciplinary action by refusing to take oath as an MP, but it has not come without some embarrassment to Sukhbir. "If my father wanted, he would have taken him (Lalpura) in his ministry in Punjab. I was chosen by Vajpayeeji," he says. Omar's victory hasn't been one long celebration either, for it has made Farooq's own brothers unhappy. Feeling left behind in what they perceive to be a war of succession, Tariq Abdullah, Omar's uncle, even accused Farooq of dynastic rule.

The family name is important to them, but this new breed of politicians doesn't see that as its only calling card. "I tried to get a job in London but returned when I couldn't because I didn't want Dad calling up any of his friends," asserts Omar. Omak is equally assertive, saying he was quite happy being the managing director of Arunachal Times, an english daily, and working with the youth through his NGO Future Generation. So is Sukhbir, who feels he's more than qualified for the task at hand.

Refusing to get bogged down by charges and counter-charges, these tyros are looking ahead: Sukhbir at sculpting Indian industry, Omak at switching gears from taekwondo to tourism and Omar at touring his constituency and applying the balm. "Check us out the next time. We are greenhorns and so there are no skeletons in our cupboards," smiles Omar. For now ... they are different.

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