Rasheed Kidwai on Congress' Future, Nehru vs Modi & Democracy's Challenges | Banaras Lit Fest 2025 - video Dailymotion

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Senior journalist and political analyst Rasheed Kidwai speaks exclusively with OneIndia’s Pankaj Mishra on the sidelines of Banaras Lit Fest 2025. He discusses his book Ballot, the state of democracy in India, why Congress needs introspection, and how the party can tackle challenges in the coming years. Kidwai also compares Nehru and Modi’s leadership, the evolution of Indian politics, and the importance of the ballot and constitution in shaping the nation’s future. Watch this insightful conversation!    #RasheedKidwai #BanarasLitFest2025 #BallotBook #CongressCrisis #NehruVsModi #IndianPolitics #Democracy #PankajMishra #OneIndia #PoliticalAnalysis #Elections #Leadership  ~PR.274~HT.408~GR.124~PR.100~

Transcript

00:00It's not rare when you find authors like Rashid Gidwai at festivals like this one,

00:05at Banaras Literature Festival, the third edition.

00:08Mr. Gidwai, thank you so much for speaking to One India.

00:10First things first, your book, Ballot, 10 episodes that have shaped India's democracy.

00:15There are two words that need a lot of attention, democracy and ballot.

00:19They are very relevant these days.

00:20How do you see them?

00:21How important they are?

00:23I think they are integral part of our democratic setup.

00:26And though the ballot has now become a kind of EVM machine one,

00:30but still it remains the same.

00:32And I think this is the biggest sort of strength to our political system

00:36that everybody, regardless of the caste, creed, region you come from, they have a right to vote.

00:42And Indian voter is giving a mandate that always surprises.

00:47So whether it does not go, we all see in several elections, we have seen,

00:52and this is what I have tried to document in this book, the 10 episodes,

00:55which were the 10 episodes, like rise of Mayawati, rise of, you know, N.T. Ramarao,

01:02the persona of Balasaheb Thackeray as a sort of supreme ballot.

01:07I have written there is no superpower, there was no superstar in Bollywood, in Mumbai,

01:12so to say, it was Balasaheb Thackeray.

01:15In that kind of respect, he commanded it once upon a time.

01:18Absolutely.

01:19Right from the advent of the third term of Prime Minister Modi,

01:24the word democracy found its resonance,

01:27not very surprisingly within the chambers of the Indian parliament as well.

01:31Rahul Gandhi was seen raking up and actually mentioning democracy and constitution quite a lot

01:38and return to ballot papers also.

01:41How do you see that?

01:42So, you see, this is a point of view.

01:44And I think this is, again, what you basically said,

01:47that in democracy, the beauty of the system is that you can also question that system.

01:53Like, because of the, let's say, EVM, Rahul Gandhi is there in Lok Sabha,

01:57but in that Lok Sabha, he is questioning the EVM.

02:00Right.

02:01So, this is a real, whether, you know, it is justified or not, it's a matter of opinion.

02:06Right.

02:06See, somebody's verdict of 49 and 51, like at this present 18th Lok Sabha,

02:12has 53 percent, you know, MPs belonging to the ruling coalition

02:17and 47 percent belonging to the opposition.

02:20I mean, those who are not in the ruling coalition.

02:22So, what I'm saying is, this is a, you know, beautiful system.

02:25That if you have 100 people, assuming 53 are for Mr. Modi and 47 are not for him.

02:31Right.

02:31So, this gives a kind of, you know, check and balances.

02:34And I think that's a real strength of our democracy.

02:36Absolutely.

02:37That is very aptly put.

02:38I would say one final question.

02:40I know you have a busy schedule here this evening.

02:42Your previous book, Bharat Ke Pradhan Mantri.

02:44I have been the proud reader of that book.

02:47My kids also go through that.

05:10I don't know about cricket.

05:12No, sir. Absolutely.

05:13But, you know, in our country, cricket, politics and film is a kind of a drink.

05:18But, this Lidfest is also a kind of a drink.

05:20And I would like to thank Aizobo for this.

05:23Because, under the same roof, they have created such a great atmosphere.

05:27And more than the atmosphere, it's not like they are connected to any ideology or any person.

05:32In fact, like I said, our culture is that of an argumentative Indian.

05:38I mean, we used to argue with each other.

05:40And we used to debate with each other.

05:42With that same feeling, I saw that a very beautiful arrangement has been made here.

05:46Absolutely.

05:47The way Mr. Rashid mentioned those things that are in front of our eyes, we couldn't see it.

05:52Wherever Ravi goes, the poetic thing is there.

05:55Mr. Rashid, thank you very much for this interview.

05:57We wish you all the very best.

05:58And we thank you for watching this broadcast.

Rasheed Kidwai on Congress' Future, Nehru vs Modi & Democracy's Challenges | Banaras Lit Fest 2025

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