The Voter Has The Last Word

Leadership is not about the next election; it’s about the next generation.
— Simon Sinek

In a month-and-a-half, India will have a new government at the Centre.

Campaign is in full swing for the elections, with the Congress taking the lead in unveiling its manifesto. The Indian National Congress makes some bold promises — it vows NYAY for the poorest Indians, wherein Rs 72,000 per annum is promised for those earning Rs 6,000 or less a month, in the “final war on poverty”.

The party says that anyone would be able to float and register businesses without needing any governmental approval. It also plans to make 150 days of employment (as against 100 days at present) through MNREGA mandatory in rural India.
On the face of it, Congress’s manifesto is an ambitious document. On its cover, the party declares — “We will deliver”.
The intent is important. For, wasn’t it Indira Gandhi who gave the clarion call of “Garibi Hatao”?

So, when the opponents say that the Congress has not been honest in delivery, there is some merit in the charge.

Political slug-fest aside, we put the Congress NYAY promise to an objective test. We commissioned a survey and found that both Corporate India and the nation are apprehensive about the Congress’s NYAY promise. We also asked them to compare the promise with PM Narendra Modi’s Rs 6,000 per year dole to marginal farmers. The results of the survey are surprising, as you will see is this issue of BW Businessworld.

In our first cover story in this issue of BW Businessworld, we get corporate leaders to speak on the elections.
Corporate leaders rarely speak out of turn. More often than not, they mouth platitudes, and act in tandem with various governments. Public intellectuals often say that corporates lack a spine, but as this BW Businessworld cover story shows, this is not always true.

The five corporate leaders featured in this issue, in no-holds-barred interviews, bare their hearts out on the elections, their priorities, the Modi years and the Manmohan years.

The industry and the readers will find this section riveting.

We also have a second cover story in this issue, where we look at the change of guard at Titan and the group’s performance in the recent years.

Talking about the election times, one book that has won critical acclaim is The Verdict penned by Prannoy Roy and Dorab Sopariwala. The writers talk about the elections and the underlying trends in Last Word.

This issue of BW Businessworld comes with all other regular features, and columns.

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Happy reading!