In a candid chat, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director at Bajaj Auto, put out his thoughts on political parties in auto terms. He called the Congress to be similar to Bajaj Chetak, with glory days behind. He likened the BJP to Hero's Splendor model - slightly different than Chetak, but the same animal - and the AAP to Bajaj's Pulsar - not for everyone but loved by some.
Here's an edited transcript of the interview.
On Arvind Kejriwal
I will make a couple of comments in this regard. You are responsible for people thinking that I was going to stand for AAP in the Lok Sabha elections because it was by virtue of your interview that all this got started. So give me a couple of minutes to explain that. You have correctly said , I mean on the show I did mention that I am a friend of Arvind Kejriwal, if I may say so, I resonate with his thoughts , I am a supporter , I am a well-wisher and I said I am a fan. And I left it at that because it was my personal opinion about an individual as much I had understood about him from my interactions with him. I said very clearly subsequently that I am absolutely indifferent to politics and I am ignorant of AAP as a party. In a sense, I don't know much about AAP as a party. But I know a little more about Arvind Kejriwal and I like what I see there. (Watch video)
On Congress
For me if I were to give you an analogy from the work that I do, to me the Congress as I see from the outside and again the disclaimer is that I don't know much about politics and I have no intention of knowing anymore more than I do . But to me the Congress is a bit like the (Bajaj) Chetak. It has had its days and right now doesn't seem very relevant, or it has not kept itself very relevant. I am a believer that corruption has a lot to do with it. Because I come from the belief that corruption is a thousand headed monster, it is at the root of the many other symptoms that we see around us, such as poor infrastructure, poor education, atrocity against women, policy paralysis etc. I think at the root of all of these is the issue of corruption - either there is rampant corruption & scams or the fact that apparently people in government, like bureaucrats, are now hesitant, tentative to act because they are afraid that they may be liable for something in the future. So when viewed in this broad sense I think corruption is a huge issue that hangs over the Congress party right now.
On BJP
My own view, my personal view about the BJP is that it's a bit like what the (Hero) Splendor was to the (Bajaj) Chetak. It's new and improved, it's a little better and different, but frankly it's the same animal. You know I have been in the business for 23 years and my humble submission would be that I have not seen any reason to believe that when it comes to the issue of good & clean governance the BJP is any better than the Congress. So for me that's not really an alternative as an individual citizen of this country.
On Aam Admi Party
To me the AAP is a bit like the (Bajaj) Pulsar. It is clearly different, it creates a space of its own and you may like it or you may hate it, but you cannot ignore it. It might flatter to deceive, it may not be for everyone, it's certainly not for the office guy that wants to commute back and forth or want to take his wife and two kids out, maybe the Pulsar is not for him. So the Pulsar is not for everyone but it is sharp and runs deep with those for whom is intended to be. So you know on the basis of that analogy I would say that Arvind and AAP have carved out a very distinct space for themselves and I think if I may say so they have done a fantastic marketing job.
What is marketing? Marketing is about having a unique position in the mind of the customers. They have a unique position today. Anti-corruption, willing to give up the CM position in 49 days but not willing apparently to compromise on principles is a unique position. Marketing is about having a great name. I think AAP is a great name. Marketing is having a great tagline. I think 'Mujhe Chahiye Saccha Swaraj' is a great tagline. I think marketing is having a great logo and I think "Jhadoo" is great logo. I think marketing is about being consistent to the point of being boring and rhetorical. I think I see that as well whenever I hear Arvind's speech. So I think they have done a fantastic marketing job. And if I think of myself as a little bit of marketing person, that marketing person in me like what I see.
On Rahul Gandhi
I have had the occasion of meeting Rahul Gandhi more than once and I have found him to be a very likable person. I enjoyed meeting with him. I have found him quite bright and sincere.
On Narendra Modi
I have never met Mr Modi so I have no opinion to offer on him.
On Arvind Kejriwal
Arvind Kejriwal, of course, I have known better as I have had occasions to meet him more. The difference to me is that Arvind as an individual, for the way he thinks, the way he presents himself, what he says he intends to do, I find it not only appealling but I also find it inspirational. And that is why I said that I am a well-wisher, to the point of being a fan.
On leadership
I have always believed as I said to you the last time we spoke that what really matters is leadership. I will venture to say this about the BJP, that in this election without Modi, BJP is a completely different proposition compared to what it is with Mr Modi. Similarly AAP without Arvind Kejriwal is not half the party that it is. So as I said the last time we must always bet on leaders and leadership. Leadership will percolate down. Will everybody be as bright as Arvind, will everybody be as honest as Modi, perhaps not. But I don't think that matters. That does not define the effectiveness of what the party does. Just as in Bajaj Auto everybody may not be able to qualitatively match up to Rahul Bajaj. But that doesn't mean Bajaj Auto doesn't do relatively well in the market place compared to its peers. So focus less on the party and more on the leadership. And speaking of individual leadership what has appealed to me the most and has inspired me the most is the leadership that is coming from Arvind Kejriwal.
Are hopes from new governent too high ?
I would say that I am not an economist or a business person in the CII sense of businessmen. Let me give you few examples. Look at the aviation industry. It seems to be a horrible place to be in. Now, if the aviation industry was only about Air India and Indian Airlines, Kingfisher and even Jet by that measure we would be tempted to conclude that 'Yeh to Aisa he Hai'. There will be no discipline, service, timeliness, profitability etc. But in the same environment when there is a IndiGo of which Aditya Ghosh has done such a remarkable job, suddenly you have contrast and you may say that 'Aisa Bhi Ho Sakta Hai'. If you look at the last 2-3 years, the IT industry when Infosys was apparently having few hiccups and Wipro was kind of fading a bit, you look at what Chandrasekaran was doing at TCS. They could not do anything wrong. Every time I saw their results I really envied Chandra and his team. What I am trying to say is that we must not so easily find an excuse in this theory of external environment. That problems of this world, the US, Italy, Greece, Spain and all this kind of nonsense (are responsible for the Indian slowdown). I am a firm believer that most of these goals we have scored against ourselves. What exactly went wrong, this is a matter of great debate. But I believe that just as there is IndiGo, a TCS, a Sun Pharma and if I may say so, there is a Bajaj Auto which can shine in their respective industries although their industries were not doing very well, Iam sure with the right government in place India can achieve the kind of goals that you spoke about earlier.
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