SOURCE:::::SILICON INDIA NEWS …..OPINION….
Natarajan
Team Anna members met for the first time after they ended their indefinite fast and discussed their plans to take a plunge in electoral politics. Many ardent fans of Anna Hazare are bound to feel disappointed that he would form a political party and contest election to bring the Lokpal Bill.
Anna had received widespread support because of the importance of his anti corruption movement. The support that he got from the people across country was due to the fact that many people were convinced that he would bring huge pressure on the politicians to reform themselves and bring down the level of corruption. Anna’s plan on forming a political party was in fact not welcomed by some of the dignitaries in India. Former Supreme Court Justice Santosh Hegde said, “Personally I am not in favor of Annaji floating a political party and contesting elections, which is an expensive affair and requires huge resources in terms of funds and cadres.” as reported in The Hindu.
Now the question looms whether Anna should form a political party or not and by forming such parties will Anna be successful? An excellent example of such unsuccessful innovation is Nirma Detergent, as reported in The Hindu. Karsanbhai Patel who introduced Nirma detergent in 1969, started selling soaps at 3.50 per kg. At that time, Surf (Hindustan Uniliver) retailed for Rs 15 per kg. The consumers at that time couldn’t afford the luxury of washing their clothes using a detergent and instead used soap. If Patel had thought that Hindustan Unilever would rout his small detergent, he would never have launched. The same policy should be applicable to Team Anna’s political party as well. Anna should never launch such a party and run it for the next few years without knowing what is in store for him.
In 1955, Sony had introduced the first battery- powered, pocket transistor radio and their main target were teenagers who could not afford big tabletop radios. Sony also came up with other disruptive innovations like the Walkman and the CDMan which was not successful in the market. So what Anna has to learn from the Sony experience is that one has to think a 100 times before taking a plunge into electoral politics. If Anna joins politics, the momentum gained should not be lost. When people like Anna Hazare, having noble intentions join politics, either they don’t last long or they don’t achieve much.
What Anna and his aides should learn from such examples is that their political party may not take the nation by storm all at once. What he should do is appeal only to a section of voters, mainly the urban middle-class, like Sony Radios had appealed to teenagers. If Anna and his aides remain true to their cause, they might just gain popularity among the masses over the years.
Team Anna is also like the disruptive innovations where Team Anna’s political partiestries for a few years but doesn’t get anywhere. Giving these reasons Team Anna’s political party should be given a chance as they are fighting for a cause. However they should be wise enough not to follow in the shoes of Nirma and Sony which caused them little success.
Take off with Natarajan 