From Black Tux To White Kurta

When leaders are chosen for a fresh tenure, it is we, the people of India coming out of the poll booths proudly showing off our blue ink mark. While it is a pride to vote for the largest democracy in the world, it is also a pride to choose a leader who will carry the pride of the nation in turn. The next time you press that button on the EVM, remember that once chosen, nothing can be changed.

Nitesh Narayan Rane: I am my father's son (well, of course in tux!); Source: Alchetron

Groucho Marx once said, “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedies.” Indian Politics is the perfect example of this art. Often a sensitive topic in the Indian subcontinent, politics is the only area where pig-ignorance is treated with utmost seriousness and respect, and laugh out loud (too old to say LOL!) statements are spoken with confidence compared to none.

Well, politicians, cartoonists, and stand-up comedians have quite a unique connection. While we grew up with cartoons that called Margaret Thatcher’s dress blacksmith created and Jayalalithaa’s saris silkworm cremated, today political cartoons stand at an entirely different level. Without any fear, they go on making caricatures that might put them into a deep sleep.

While stand-up comedy sessions in the early days were more or less filled with shayaris, and giggles on Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky jokes, today these comedians stand bravely in the online YouTube channels laughing out loud (again, no LOL!) with their masaaledaar comedy sessions. Not taking the dangerous path of naming the leaders, they go for hilarious synonyms like “Dear Leader”, “The One Who Must Not Be Named” and “Gobiji”.

Trying their best to create a straightforward effect in their punchlines, they say something moderately savage. But even these jokes bring the “ooohhhs” and “aaahhhs” out of the audience just the way we used to snicker at the mention of the word “sex” from our eighth-grade biology teacher.

One such politician who has made a name for himself not only in the punchlines of these comedians and the corner pages of newspapers in the form of funny caricatures but also in the good books of the public, is none other than his father’s son, Nitesh Rane. No, this is not a rag to riches story or a bureaucrat to politician story. This is the story of an MBA graduate wearing a white kurta to show his skills in the field of politics.

Born in the house of the famous politician Narayan Rane, Nitesh decided to step out of the country and obtain his MBA degree from the UK along with his elder brother Nilesh. Feeling the need to let go of his MBA certificate, Rane decided to join his family business. The transformation from a smart tuxedo to a simple white kurta was never easy, but he never wanted to choose the easy path.

Grandly kickstarting his career by founding Swabhiman Sanghatana, Nitesh indeed made a good start. This sanghatana is mainly involved in spreading awareness about various social issues that have been with India as a true enemy since time immemorial. Apart from this, Rane was also given the respectable position of general secretary of Youth Congress. Due to some conflicts with the local leaders, he resigned from this post.

A thoughtful step taken by Nitesh for the not-so-perennial blue liquid is a toll-free number. This initiative helped the local citizens of Maharashtra to register their complaints against the private water supply tankers who charged an extremely high price for the quintessential supply of life or in simple words, water. Terming these illegal water suppliers as Water Mafia, Rane charged the Shiv Sena - BJP for not being able to combat this situation.

In 2011, this man also made it to the Guinness Book of World Record by conducting a unique job fair that gave over 25,000 jobs to unemployed youth and physically challenged.

A politician is always incomplete without controversies. Even thousands of appreciation medals could not hide that black mark prominently visible in Nitesh's career. The period of ruling the hearts of Maharashtrians remained a dream when Rane’s life started taking a U-turn with the on-start of the inauspicious year of 2009.

With the release of a film called Zenda with a character that resembled his father, Rane started his protest. Due to continuous pressure, the director finally had to re-shoot and re-dub a few scenes and also change the character’s name. The very next year in 2010, a small businessman filed a complaint claiming that Rane attempted murder by firing shots at him.

Yet again in 2013, he was detained by the police officers for damaging a toll booth and assaulting the workers. With his raging tweets against Narendra Modi and asking the Gujaratis to leave Mumbai, Nitesh always makes it to the headlines. From throwing fish at a government official to assaulting a government deputy engineer, Rane has tarnished the reputation of Indian politics through his shameful yet hilarious acts.

While there’s something good lurking within every person, politics can entirely corrupt that “good”. Therefore, it is always advisable to change politicians and diapers frequently and all for the same reason.