Take the example of Anil Ambani: A billionaire who now claims that he is bankrupt and that his net worth is zero. In 2008, after the two Ambani brothers had split, Anil Ambani was worth USD 42 billion. He got majority ownership of many companies that were under the Reliance umbrella. Some of them were:
Reliance Power
Reliance Infrastructure
Reliance Communications
Reliance Capital
Anil Ambani still owns substantial stakes in all these companies (47.48% in Reliance Capital, 22% in Reliance Communications, 56.29% in Reliance Power, 41% in Reliance Infra)
Reliance Communications is currently in bankruptcy court while the other companies under his control have eroded wealth of investors (and his own wealth) by more than 90% each.
In short, Anil Ambani (and his team) have mismanaged all of the businesses under the former ADAG group and none of the businesses has managed to stay afloat (let alone prosper).
But what does that mean for Anil Ambani? What are the repercussions that he has had to face?
Virtually nothing. He still holds top management positions in virtually all of his businesses and still holds enough power to make every major decision in them.
The same holds true for Political Parties in India. Look at Congress - reduced to double digits in two consecutive Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, facing reversals in almost every major state election, defections of senior politicians from the party, and they have also managed to become an also-ran in states where they were once a major force (Maharashtra, West Bengal, North-East, etc.)
But does this mean that there are any repercussions for Rahul Gandhi (or for Sonia Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi)? No. Instead, today itself one of the most senior leaders of Congress Digvijay Singh tweeted "I would like to see Rahul Gandhi become Prime Minister before I die". On the other hand, Priyanka Gandhi's son Rehan Vadra has now been renamed Rehan Rajiv Gandhi and looks all set to become the next-in-line for the family throne of Congress President.
Similarly, look at Samajwadi Party, or Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janta Dal. Fortunes of both have declined considerably in states where they were once considered untouchable. And both these stalwarts were so strong that they once harbored dreams of, and even enjoyed important roles in national politics.
But again there have been hardly any repercussions for the poor performance of these parties for their leaders (sons of respective founder politicians).
This can only happen when there is no way for anyone else in the party to take control - just like no one in any of the former ADAG group companies can take control out of the hands of Anil Ambani. In a truly democratic political party, these non-performing leaders would have been set aside (Just look at the top management of companies like Yes Bank or various others that have been sent to bankruptcy courts for poor management).
Reliance Power
Reliance Infrastructure
Reliance Communications
Reliance Capital
Anil Ambani still owns substantial stakes in all these companies (47.48% in Reliance Capital, 22% in Reliance Communications, 56.29% in Reliance Power, 41% in Reliance Infra)
Reliance Communications is currently in bankruptcy court while the other companies under his control have eroded wealth of investors (and his own wealth) by more than 90% each.
In short, Anil Ambani (and his team) have mismanaged all of the businesses under the former ADAG group and none of the businesses has managed to stay afloat (let alone prosper).
But what does that mean for Anil Ambani? What are the repercussions that he has had to face?
Virtually nothing. He still holds top management positions in virtually all of his businesses and still holds enough power to make every major decision in them.
The same holds true for Political Parties in India. Look at Congress - reduced to double digits in two consecutive Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, facing reversals in almost every major state election, defections of senior politicians from the party, and they have also managed to become an also-ran in states where they were once a major force (Maharashtra, West Bengal, North-East, etc.)
But does this mean that there are any repercussions for Rahul Gandhi (or for Sonia Gandhi or Priyanka Gandhi)? No. Instead, today itself one of the most senior leaders of Congress Digvijay Singh tweeted "I would like to see Rahul Gandhi become Prime Minister before I die". On the other hand, Priyanka Gandhi's son Rehan Vadra has now been renamed Rehan Rajiv Gandhi and looks all set to become the next-in-line for the family throne of Congress President.
Similarly, look at Samajwadi Party, or Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janta Dal. Fortunes of both have declined considerably in states where they were once considered untouchable. And both these stalwarts were so strong that they once harbored dreams of, and even enjoyed important roles in national politics.
But again there have been hardly any repercussions for the poor performance of these parties for their leaders (sons of respective founder politicians).
This can only happen when there is no way for anyone else in the party to take control - just like no one in any of the former ADAG group companies can take control out of the hands of Anil Ambani. In a truly democratic political party, these non-performing leaders would have been set aside (Just look at the top management of companies like Yes Bank or various others that have been sent to bankruptcy courts for poor management).
