Dominance of family politics in governance 

October 26, 2025

Abhishek Vij

Whenever there is talk of change in the country, our self-proclaimed leaders declare from public platforms that democracy means the rule of the common man. The first step towards democracy should be to end the dynastic politics of leaders and those in power. It is not necessary that the king’s son should also be king. Democracy says that even a laborer’s son can become king. But it ‘only says so.’ The country has celebrated the Amrit Mahotsav of Independence. Seventy-five years have passed since democracy was declared in the country.

We find that despite claims of ending dynastic politics, it continues to flourish in the country’s politics. As leaders grow old, their first attempt is to install their son, grandson, or nephew in their place. It is not necessary that they possess the same qualifications as the leader. Therefore, these leaders who inherit their positions either create problems in the country due to their incompetence or evade solving public problems. Perhaps this is why, despite declarations of revolutionary change, today we find the country in the lap of the status quo. Let’s assess dynastic politics at the national level. The BJP is not only the largest party in the country but also in the world, according to its leadership. It has 2078 MLAs in the states of the country. Of these, 18.62 percent are from political dynasties. But the Congress, which has fewer members, only 99 MPs in the Lok Sabha, and is in power in only three states, has 857 MLAs. Of these, 33.25 percent are from political dynasties.

Now, let’s examine regional parties. Here, dynastic politics is even more prevalent. Of the 163 MLAs of the NDA ally Telugu Desam Party, 51 are from political dynasties, and of the 81 MLAs of the JDU, 28 are from political dynasties. The same is the situation with the newly formed India Alliance. Of the 158 MLAs of the Samajwadi Party, 55 are from political dynasties. Of the 268 MLAs of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s party, 33 are from political dynasties. Of the 172 MLAs of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin’s DMK party, 30 are from political dynasties. In Andhra Pradesh, 15 out of 56 MLAs of the YSR Congress Party are from political families. These days, the Bihar assembly elections are dominating the headlines.

Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are of great importance. The election results in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh often set the tone for the nation’s voters ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Both alliances contesting the elections in Bihar talk about revolution and change, but the situation here is similar to the rest of the country. The statistics show that of the total candidates contesting for the 243 seats in the assembly, one-fourth are from political dynasties. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leads in dynastic politics with 30 MLAs from political families.

The BJP also has 35 dynastic leaders. Looking back, Bihar has had 23 chief ministers so far. Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Rabri Devi are among the prominent ones. Of these 23 chief ministers, at least 7 were from political dynasties or continued their family’s political tradition. Wherever you look, be it the central or state governments, these dynastic leaders dominate. Their numbers are increasing because they inherit the political acumen and resources to contest elections. The common man stands on the sidelines and keeps hearing that democracy means representation of the common man.