The announcement of the venerable Dr Elattuvalapil Sreedharan or ‘Metroman’ (in the superhero avatar of ‘Marvel-esque’ dimension), as the political candidate of the BJP in Kerala has galvanised the local saffron campaign, as also triggered some pertinent debates. In the moribund world of ‘sameness’ amongst politicians, the unmatched accomplishments of Dr Sreedharan are indeed a breath of fresh air. In a country with a notorious reputation for infrastructural projects suffering from sub-standard output, cost and time overruns, sustainability issues etc., this technocrat’s stellar record on virtually all parameters makes him a rare professional, and affords the party that he endorses and joins a truly sharp arrow in the quiver.

But he is 88 years young, and from all accounts, extremely fit of mind and body about his work and commitments. The ostensible fear of ‘gerontocracy’ that underlies the ruling party’s supposed logic of denying electoral tickets to candidates above the age of 75, have been ignored in his case. Is that rule borne of inviolable conviction or of flexible convenience and political insecurity? The honest answer would suggest a lot more than contained within its restrictive import.The argument of declining cognitive ability over the age of 70 is indeed based on scientific fact, just as the dawning of invaluable wisdom coming solely from experience, is validated by empirical evidence. Practically, you need a combination of both youthful energy and wisdom in a calibrated approach within a cabinet and not just in a simplistic ‘either-or’ binary.

Two thousand years ago, a Greek philosopher Plutarch of Chaeronea wrote a seminal essay, ‘Should an old man engage in politics’, where instead of just wisdom, he framed the attribute of ‘composure’ that comes solely with experience, as the winning case for elders. Plutarch argued that experienced politicians tend to hold their heads better in times of crisis and calamity, as opposed to inexperienced leaders who ‘give in’ to the moment. Therefore, the common refrain to, ‘bring an old man back from his farm’ to ‘compel him to take the helm and stabilise their affairs’. But the ‘old guard-new guard’ debate given to superficial arguments is not necessarily wrong, but usually one-sided, and often more a matter of convenience than conviction. The irrepressibly charming Jaswant Singh, a former cavalier, had alluded to the same phenomenon of ‘being put out to pasture’!

Earlier, this very scourge of ageism had led to the cleansing of the political Augean stable, and a new era and impulse of leadership was born. The rulebook was slammed in the face of weary ‘seniors’ or pesky questioners, for in the ‘party with a difference’, complete, unquestioned compliance was mandated. Willy-nilly, the old guard (of possible ‘road blockers’) was replaced by a new team of loyal ‘youthfulness’. Implicitly, the oldguard in the likes of LK Advani, Jaswant Singh, Maj Gen BC Khanduri (Retd), Arun Shourie, Yashwant Sinha, Murli Manohar Joshi etc., lacked the necessary vigour, mind and presumably were ‘out of touch’ with the realities, competencies and necessities of the 21st century.

Was is it about getting fresh perspective, skill sets and enlightened thinking with the new team or was it for ensuring complete acquiescence towards the new leadership – only time will tell? Concurrently, it also begs the sincerity of intent behind the creation of ‘Margdarshak Mandal’ (group of mentors) as an elevated advisory and guidance platform, or as that of a parking slot? The fact that it has not even met even once since its ostensible formation or known to have given any purported input on a pressing matter says something about the force behind it.

Remember, the criteria and qualification for the same was simply ‘age’ i.e. 75 and above. LK Advani later wrote a tellingly suggestive blog titled, ‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last’, where he urged his party to, ‘look back, look ahead and look within’ and seemingly lamented, ‘Defense of democracy and democratic traditions, both within the Party and in the larger national setting, has been the proud hallmark of the BJP’. He blogged after nearly five years, it was also his last blog, since. After all he had crossed 75 years, and in a standard line from Indian politics, ‘as a disciplined soldier of the party’, he was expected to conform.

But soon, the rulebook of 75 was relaxed for some ‘exceptional’ cases. The assertive and pugnacious BS Yediyurappa who could rightfully claim to be the man who stormed the southern bastion for the ruling dispensation in Karnataka, was electorally irreplaceable, and he knew it. Not really relevant in national politics, he yielded a lot more regional muscle and stakes than say a Kalraj Mishra or Najma Heptullah, who dutifully left the cabinet on reaching 75. The exception was soon made, and the regional strongman continues as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, in an ‘exception’ that was strictly denied to many illustrious colleagues at the Centre.

Interestingly even Dr Sreedharan claims that he was offered a ministerial role in the Centre, post the 2019 General Elections, but adds that, ‘I had to step aside as I was over 75 years’! That constraint thankfully for him, his party, and for the larger domain of politics has not been applied now. Politics should logically benefit when fit people of proven record and abilities like Dr Sreedharan abound, irrespective of their age.

Cut to Malaysia across the choppy Bay of Bengal, where in 2018, a 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad plotted his way back to Prime Ministership, after first becoming the Prime Minister in 1981 and staying in office till 2003. In 2020, he resigned owing to ‘palace-intrigues’ but today the 95-year-young politician, has launched a new party and he is far from being ‘put out to pasture’!

But coming back to the curious and certainly interesting case of Dr Sreedharan, he too was baptized with the asymmetric dynamics that are at play in Indian politics. Already the awkward flip-flop on his possible candidature as a Chief Ministerial candidate has played out. The local party chief first said explicitly that ‘under the leadership of the ‘Metroman’, (if the party) gets an opportunity to rule the state, we are confident we will be able to implement development works’. Then he clarified his statement was not tantamount to suggesting Dr Sreedharan as Chief Ministerial candidature revealing the proverbial slip between the political cup and the lip. Irrespective as to how the partisan politics flare up and how God’s own country selects its law makers, the advent of the likes of Dr Sreedharan must be welcomed for the betterment of Indian politics, and hopefully political parties do not resort to ageism as a convenient means of internal one-upmanship. May the best woman/man win, and that is more important than any individual, party or clique.