Does politics change people? Or is it that politicians are required to blow their own trumpets. A social worker whom I know is contesting the polls this parliamentary elections. When I spoke to him after he has filed his nomination papers, he sounded totally different. The 20 minute phone call was all about slums and huts in Bangalore, how we visited the houses, had tea with the slum dwellers, and how they were happy that some MP contestant was actually visiting them and not going away after giving a speech. He also went on to bash some prominent politicians.

Well, nothing wrong in whatever we said, but this conversation was the least I expected of him. He sounded like a politician!  Hardly any days into politics and this person seems completely moulded into a neta. I wonder if politics changes people or does it require a person to change to survive.

A MP, who is contesting again, said in an interaction that they need to market their performance. I agree, for we are in an age when we believe what is repeated. A person who may not do anything, but if he keeps telling about the work he has done, we tend to blindly believe him. Of course, we don’t have time to cross check. Who cares anyway? Because of this attitude we tend to overlook the people who do justice to their posts.

I can only think of an example my teachers gave me in psychology class to understand the effect of repetition. Many of us might have heard the Vicco Vajradanti ad, years ago, but almost all of us remember the jingle. The same thing applies to our judging of politicians and people around us. There are very few who can keep themselves unaffected by repetition.