Scindia represented hopes of students

new delhi: for anand kapai, a hindu college student, madhavrao scindia brought colour to the otherwise "grey" scenario of indian politics. for not only was he young and charismatic, he had a royal background as well. he even had a "rebellious" streak, which youngsters like kapai found endearing. "he had an independent identity in the congress, something which is very difficult in a party that freely distributes the label of dissident," said rajiv sharma, a doctorate student at jawaharlal nehru university."his style of functioning and the political background also set him apart," sharma added. but all factors apart, age was something that enhanced the 56-year-old leader's popularity amongst the young. scindia joins the list of politicians who have represented the hopes of a population group that is wary of politics. "rajiv gandhi, rajesh pilot and scindia represented the aspirations of the young," said shubhita arora, an economics student at khalsa college. not only were they dynamic, they also promoted a work culture the younger generation could identify with. the list does not end there. omar abdullah, arun jaitley, shahnawaz hussain; kapai rolls out the names of other politicians he finds promising. scindia's popularity, perhaps, is showcased by his sensitivity to student issues. "in 1985, when scindia was the railways minister, and we demanded a railway reservation counter, he promptly opened it in the north campus," said congress mla ajay maken, then delhi university students' union president. most youngsters feel their hoplessness about politics is directly linked to the greying politicians. "where will be the inflow of ideas if there is no young blood joining politics," questioned prerna lal, a class xi student of st xaviers. "we can't identify with politicians who do not know how to handle a mouse," she said. the irony is brought out by the fact that very few youngsters want to join politics because it is "dirty". and also because politics is not considered to a viable career. for one, very few have leadership qualities and the perseverance to go looking for votes. "people don't want to earn money the wrong way if they can do it the right way," kapai said.