Indian politics for far too long has been dominated by pragmatists more interested in patronage than in ideology. Also, political leaders have long focused on political expansion and tokenism than on good governance. A few examples should suffice –

Prasenjit Bose heading the research unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)) was expelled from the party for questioning its decision to support the United Progressive Alliance’s (UPA’s) Presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee. Support for Mukherjee, while opposing his neoliberal regime, left many in the party anguished and depressed.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee sought the removal of its railway minister Dinesh Trivedi hours after he proposed a hike in railway passenger fares. It was a strange situation in the country’s parliamentary history, as the discussion on the Railway Budget presented by the minister was still to take place. Trivedi resigned.