The young do not seem to be coming into politics the way they did earlier. There must be various reasons for this. But, at the same time, their parents ? particularly those who are retired bureaucrats and policemen ? seem extremely eager to build up a new career in politics. This may seem strange, since most of these ex-administrators were critical of politicians during their service years ? and not always in private. Thus, after lambasting politics and politicians, T.N. Seshan decided to enter the same world once he retired as the chief election commissioner. He could not change anything, but made it clear that most of the babus, while carping at politicians, actually want to joint their ranks.

It appears that there are plenty of takers, if the lists of candidates of the political parties are anything to go by. In West Bengal, the trend was set by the Trinamool Congress, which also succeeded in sending a few retired IAS and IPS officers to the Lok Sabha and the assembly. Now the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has nominated a former inspector-general of police to contest the coming assembly elections.

The question is, why do political parties look beyond their ranks before the polls? Is it because they run short of suitable candidates? This could have been the reason for a new party like the Trinamool Congress. Also, not being burdened by any definite ideology, the party had no problem in picking people at random as long as they promised to attack the CPI(M). But why should a Marxist party with a huge number of members and supporters have to walk the same path? The party may say that it has fielded just one such candidate, but the question is not of number but of attitude.

Party insiders say they too face the problem of finding suitable candidates, and hence have been forced to look around a little more widely. They insist that since it is they who will again form the government, they had to look for the right people who can be inducted into the ministry. Seen in that limited perspective, the choice does make sense. The Trinamool Congress might also have started out with this idea, but when the National Democratic Alliance formed the government at the Centre, the party did not nominate any of its two experienced former administrators to represent it. So what was the big idea in fielding them? One has to wait till after the polls to ask the same question to the CPI(M).

Then there is the larger issue of what role these bureaucrats and policemen played when they were in service? Did those who contested on opposition tickets always harbour strong anti-Marxist feelings, and did they create stumbling blocks for the communist government while they were in office? It cannot be very comforting for the political masters to know that those saying ?Yes, minister? are actually muttering the opposite in their heart of hearts. With an officer who is on the same political wavelength, there might be problems of a slightly different nature ? that is, the administrative machinery may not be as impartial as it is supposed to be.

Should administrators then be kept outside the political field for all time to come? No, that should not be anybody?s argument, as a person armed with administrative experience can certainly contribute a lot sitting either in the treasury or opposition benches. But to be fair to all concerned, he, or she, if not retired from service already, would do well to first resign and then enter the field. There have been instances of this in other states; one of them in Kerala, which is going to polls at the same time as West Bengal.

In the case of a leftist party, there is another question to be considered. Is the chosen person ideologically equipped to be championing the party?s cause? Or are the parties looking for just honest and well-meaning technocrats, knowing that these men would never have any role to play outside the legislature and the secretariat? But then, too many bureaucratic individuals may disturb the political apple-cart. There are tales of exactly that happening with a competent technocrat in a former state ministry.

On the whole, however, there is a positive sign that cannot be ignored. The entry of bureaucrats or former bureaucrats into politics should put the lid on the ever-growing upper middle-class canard that the political world has become such a dung heap that it should be scrupulously avoided. Nobody has been able to point a finger at those bureaucrats, in this state at least, who have decided to take a shot at politics. If some of them have since fallen by the wayside, then the reasons have had little to do with their performance in the world they stepped into.

Now for a closer look at the CPI(M)?s list of candidates. A whole lot of them are young. This may be a good thing in terms of enthusiasm and ideas. But there remains a nagging suspicion that the dominant group in the leadership were looking specifically for people who would not be inflexible ideologically.

The chief minister has had his problems with some of the more committed people, and perhaps he wanted those who could be moulded to his liking. That may help in ministerial functioning but it does raise a few questions about the long-term political aims. In other words, is the CPI(M) going to remain Marxist in the classical sense, or is it slowly preparing to function as a social democratic force? Some would say that since, for all practical purposes, the latter has come to be the case, it is time that steps were taken to amend the party?s programme. Stress on youth without too much experience of struggle is the first step towards that.

Second, a large number from the teaching profession have been given tickets. Perhaps this had to be done, as all those in charge of education at present have been denied tickets. But the teachers who have now been brought in and are likely to become ministers are also associated with the same bodies which have at times been seen to throw spanners in the government?s works. The exercise may well turn out to be a mere change in personnel and nothing more.

Then there is the case of the swimmer, Bula Chowdhury. A sure explanation for her nomination can be that the CPI(M) has an eye on the younger generation. To stretch the speculation further, the party has probably decided to have somebody like her handling the sports portfolio which has not exactly flourished under Subhas Chakraborty. One hopes at least that she will see the Salt Lake stadium as just a sports complex. And will the lone IPS man be asked to tackle the Maoists given that he was in charge of south Bengal in his police days?

Right now there can only be speculations. But one thing is clear: the list was finalized more from an administrative than a political point of view. This cannot be to the liking of everyone in the party.