Have you ever imagined Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) without Lalu Prasad Yadav or Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) sans M Karunanidhi? Can we even think of Samajwadi Party (SP) without its Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadav? It is a foregone conclusion that the names of these stalwarts are synonymous with their respective parties.  And this brings us to Trinamool Congress (TMC). What is TMC without Mamata Banerjee?

So is TMC going the DMK way? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to perceive that the only person who matters to TMC’s supporters is the West Bengal chief minister. Had it not been so, she wouldn’t have had to tirelessly travel the length and breadth of the state to campaign for her party. “I am the candidate in all the 294 constituencies,” she says over and over again.

Didi as she is fondly called still has the conviction she will return to Nabanna, the government headquarters after May 19. Yes, Mamata still trusts the clout she wields with her Manush (people). It’s the Mamata magic that brought her to power making the Left Front bite the dust in the 2011 Assembly Elections. However, it’s a different scenario now. Saradha, Narada, Vivekananda Flyover collapse, widespread violence, lack of industrial developments--- these are key issues which have been lapped up by her opponents (read Left Front, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party) to show her the exit door. And even a staunch TMC supporter knows that it’s only Mamata Banerjee who can bail the party out of this mess. Her desperation as noticed during the campaigns proves how lonely she is at the top.

Imagine a scenario--- Didi decides to quit politics and passes on the mantle to one of her trusted lieutenants. In that case, a party inundated with factional feuds would fall like a pack of cards. The second rung of leaders in the party, even in their wildest dreams cannot emulate their supremo’s achievements over the years. Who will succeed Mamata? Mukul Roy? Subrata Mukherjee? Firhad Hakim? Shovon Chattopadhyay? One bets the answer is NO.

No TMC leader gets even close to Mamata’s determination and zeal to save a sinking ship. The answer is simple: they have got used to the cushy life of riding piggyback on their leader’s charisma. However, if anyone is to be blamed for this complacency in the party, it is none other than Mamata herself. Since the party’s inception in 1997, she has called the shots giving others little opportunities to come out of her shadow. Mukul fell out with her after being interrogated by the Central Bureau of Investigations over the Saradha scam, but all his efforts to form an outfit outside TMC came a cropper. Despite trying to woo parties like Congress and BJP, the Rajya Sabha member had no other choice than finding solace in Didi’s camp. There are talks in the political circle that Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee is her deputy. But isn’t he a kid politically? It would take him years to step into her aunt’s shoes, especially in a party where there is no dearth of ambitious aspirants just waiting for the right time to grab a chance to rise in the ranks.      

Mulayam may be a proud father to his son and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, but the patriarch of the Yadav family is aware of how Akhilesh is a privileged one, enjoying the benefits of being his son. Look at Shiv Sena: Late Bal Thackeray’s son Uddhav is still trying to figure out his party’s vision in the absence of his father. If you thought, MK Stalin is the worthy successor to the Karunanidhi heritage, you were dreaming. Karunanidhi (92) with a fragile health is contesting in the Tamil Nadu elections. Lalu may be trying hard to promote his son Tejaswi Yadav, a political novice, yet the latter has a long way to go.

The problem with these parties is that their leaders cannot trust anybody outside the family. You just need the surname and automatically you walk down the corridors of power. Lalu ensured his wife Rabri Devi replaced him as the Bihar chief minister after he had to quit over the Fodder scam. Mamata too, couldn’t look beyond his nephew. In a strong democracy like India, personality driven politics is always on a sticky wicket unless the protégés are groomed properly. Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh would have joined hands with Nitish Kumar had the former's son Jayant Choudhary been projected as the face of the yet-to-be formed party in the Uttar Pradesh polls next year. Incidentally, the RLD leader is now trying to bridge his gap with  BJP. Doesn’t this answer the question? But this family bias can boomerang.

The late Rajiv Gandhi’s desperation to succeed her mother Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister after the latter’s assassination backfired. Rajiv’s immaturity and lack of faith in honest colleagues like VP Singh not only broke the Congress party, but also threw him out of power in the 1989 General Elections. Rajiv’s widow and Congress president, Sonia Gandhi is biding her time before she lets her son Rahul take over. Just imagine, even a party like Congress with a strong organizational structure and credible faces has to fall back upon the Gandhi dynasty.

Political pundits would see a sense of insecurity in the likes of Mamata, Lalu and others. And they are not wrong. But in a democratic set up, only he who has the vision and farsightedness to choose his successor is a successful leader. Insecurity is a bane as the saying goes, “Confidence is silent. insecurities are loud.” And these leaders personify it.