The Hindu : New Delhi News : Win-win man not afraid of losing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 28, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Win-win man not afraid of losing

By Our Staff Reporter

Writer Shiv Khera who is contesting as an Independent candidate from the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, at a Press Conference in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: V.V. Krishnan

NEW DELHI, APRIL 27. Known worldwide for motivating thousands of people with his famous punch line "Winners don't do different things, they do things differently" and for his best seller "You Can Win", the most important question facing the internationally acclaimed management guru Shiv Raj Khera and his supporters now is: "Can he Win?"

Taking everyone by surprise, Mr. Khera has jumped into the electoral fray from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat as an independent and is contesting against the veteran of Indian politics V.K. Malhotra from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the noted lawyers R.K. Anand from the Congress.

Conceding that his entry into the hustle and bustle of electoral politics was a bit too late, Mr. Khera at his first media appearance since filing his nomination papers last week, said: "I would rather lose doing something great, rather than doing nothing." Further, he went on to say: "Winning is an event in life, winner is a spirit."

During his hour-long press conference, the global management guru, who has spent most of his lifetime motivating people in the developed countries, insisted that his decision to contest the elections was not a personal one. "I am contesting the elections not for a parliamentary seat, but for the nation," he said.

By contesting the elections, Mr. Khera said he wanted to bring to the forefront three basic issues crucial for the development of the nation. "Good governance tops my agenda," he said. Referring to the poor law and order situation in the country, he said: "There should be a witness protection plan. No one is safe now."

Speaking a mix of Hindi and American-accented English, he displayed news reports stating that there has been an increase in the number of people with criminal-background in the fray for these elections.

On the crucial issue of corruption that was eating into the vitals of the nation and had weakened it, he said: "More than 2,500 billion dollars from India is in Swiss banks. These traitors are worse than the Britishers who ruled over us for 200 years."

Stating that everyone was affected by these issues, Mr. Khera urged the people to realise their potential: "It is time for people to be their own masters and be in the driver's seat."

In response to a question, Mr. Khera said he would start moving about in his constituency from Thursday to reach out to the masses. He denied that he was an outsider.

"Gandhi entered Indian politics after being a NRI (non-resident Indian) for 20 years. I was born here, educated here. I am staying here."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi