Dynasty politics counter-productive for party: Jaitley

 Hitting out at dynasty politics, BJP today said continuation of such leadership is counter-productive for a political party in a democratic set-up. "I have always believed that indefinite continuation of a dynasty as a mode of leadership selection can be counter-productive for a party. The strength of a party is only as much as the acceptability of that generation of the dynasty," BJP leader Arun Jaitley said in his Campaign Diary, in a veiled attack on Congress.

Jaitley, who is contesting from Amritsar seat, predicted that Congress would be reduced to a double digit in the 16th Lok Sabha, a record low for the party.

"As the General Elections 2014 comes to a close, the logical expectation is that the Congress party will be reduced to a double digit," he wrote in his blog.

Taking on the Congress vice-president, he said "Rahul Gandhi's leadership failed to inspire both the nation and the Congressmen. A dynastic party will never accept that. It will at best consider that if one member of the dynasty has failed to deliver, dependence should be made on another member of the dynasty."

Describing electoral defeats "as part of the natural process" the BJP leader advised the Congress to "behave graciously" and learn from the debacle.

"A party must show graciousness in defeat and be ready to learn from the causes of the defeat. It should go back to its basics, strengthen the organisation and try to throw up the most acceptable leadership," he said.

Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's authority in UPA, Jaitley said "The weakening of the institution of Prime Minister contributed to disillusionment with the leadership. No country can govern itself if the office of the Prime Minister has diminished and its authority diluted. The consequences of a parallel extra constitutional structure in our system were obviously felt."