The Hindu Business Line : A manager and a politician

It is not often that an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) fights the elections to become a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha.

Perhaps P. D. Rai, an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur (1976) and IIM-Ahmedabad (1978), and an Eisenhower Fellow USA (2000), is one of the few people who, having graduated from these elite institutions, has decided to take up politics as a full-time profession. After straddling several managerial and entrepreneurial ventures, he is today the sole voice of Sikkim in the Lok Sabha. His party, the Sikkim Democratic Front, is the ruling party in the State having won with a clear majority under the leadership of Pawan Chamling.

On Rai’s agenda are several issues relating to the tribal State such as seeking seats for the Limboo-Tamang communities, inclusion of the Bhutia and Lepcha languages in the Eighth schedule and political demands such as IT exemptions for business communities, a fair share of development aid for the State and involvement in the 13th Finance Commission.

Rai says that the training he received at his alma maters have stood him in good stead. “My training at IIT and IIM, the MBA and engineering degrees, came in very handy,” he says.

‘A fun-loving, nice guy’

His batchmates at IIM-A remember him as a fun-loving, nice guy. “He did not show any inclination towards politics at that time, though his interpersonal skills were excellent. He was an extremely fun-loving person and used to play all sorts of sports,” says Prof Samir Barua, Director, IIM-A, who studied for a year with Rai.

Prof G. Raghuram, also of IIM-A, his batchmate of two years, remembers him as a happy-go-lucky person who had a good sense of humour and a great work-life balance. The two of them along with a couple of friends once embarked on a three-day cycle trip through Ubhrat near Maroli, Baroda, Kabirvada near Bharuch and Hajira from where they took a train to Mumbai.

When Rai won the elections, one of these friends sent him an open e-mail, saying, “I know many MPs, but now I have one, who knows me.”

After passing out of IIM-A, Rai took up a job with Bank of America in Kolkata. One of the reasons he decided to leave the cushy job and return to Sikkim was the then first Governor of Sikkim, B.B. Lall.

Lall, perhaps, saw in the man great potential and wondered why he could not work for the State. “He went out of his way to kind of mentor me and called me and spoke to L.D. Kazi, Sikkim’s first Chief Minister, that this guy needs to be given a proper job in the State. In fact, Lall even defined the job I would be given — that of Project Manager in the Sikkim Flour Mills that was being set up at that time. The rest, as they say, is history,” reminisces Rai.

He worked for the Sikkim government for six years from 1979. Many of the local senior officials were of the opinion that ‘PD’ was over-qualified for the State, which had then recently merged with India. “It was a period of flux, transition, uncertainty, political consolidation, a period of learning,” he says.

“It was also a period which saw massive development happening in the State. It was a critical juncture. I was in the thick of it all.”

While he was working with the Sikkim Flour Mills, he was also given charge of the Sikkim Milk Union for two years. During this time, he went to the villages and saw how milk was a huge cash generator and a means of livelihood for rural people.

“Remarkably, even today we continue to have the mixed farming system. At least I have come a long way in understanding the nuances of the way mountain life is lived,” he says.

Talking about sustainability in the State, he says that today 75 per cent of the food is imported from outside the State. So, if National Highway 31A were to close down even for a week, the State would be in big trouble. “Essentially, when we talk about sustainability, we really need to see how we can grow more of our own food, increase the productivity of our own cash crops.”

But those six years in the government made him realise the inability of a Government job to sustain life. That is when he went off to the US as he did not want to end up as “one of those babus.” After staying in the US for a while, he returned to Sikkim.

“Business was something I needed to do to look after my family. I was not passionate about it. Today, I am in a position where I can play out whatever was scripted in me a long time ago. I am blessed in that sense, it’s worked out well for me,” he says.

Having got his political inclinations from his father, a civil servant whom he calls his encyclopaedia and historian, he has also instilled in his children the need to be global citizens.

The job on hand

Rai realises that one needs economic strength to play a role in politics and it is a fine balancing act. He also realises his challenges in Parliament in contributing to his primary constituency, Sikkim.

“A parliamentarian is given a tool box — questions, bills, zero hour, I have to judiciously use these plus there is networking — direct communication with the central ministers.”

His questions have huge import: why shouldn’t all the mountain States be evaluated differently, both in terms of the development efforts needed and socio-economic indicators, he quips.

But he is confident that five years is a sufficiently long time to get things done. He considers IIM and IIT to be his greatest support systems. “I am representing the IITs and IIMs, I am their MP. I have my batchmates in very good positions and you will see a sea change now.

“Capability building, capacity building, things like these will take centre stage now. On the one hand, we have to stop youngsters from taking to drugs and things like that, and on the other, we have to improve the lot of the people in the State. We have to get it done creatively and innovatively,” he says.

Prof Raghuram says, “I have invited him to come to the institution and talk to students and take courses here. It would be great to collaborate with him in our public management and policy programme.”

Rai is not surprised when you ask him why most IIT-ians and IIM-ites do not take up politics. “Probably, they didn’t have the luxury of making a second decision. At least I had the choice,” he signs off.

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A manager and a politician