I don't disagree with the fact that people like to be in power. Everyone wants to have the limelight. At least till they don't reach the point beyond self-actualisation. Or perhaps, they are those who don't give a damm to anything. They are better off asking questions and making allegations rather than being on the opposite side and know what it takes. And a B-school seems to be so much the idea point of starting the reign of power. Hogging the limelight. Well, such instances are seen in the monitor in school or the Gen Secy of college. But well, they are different. The first one is immature though he shares the common feeling of trying to go above. But, the monitor or class representative is more of responsibility than power. The Prefect wears and extra badge or meets the Princi more freely than others, but he can't ask someone "Don't attend the next Batch meet!"
The Gen Secy of undergrad colleges is a more 'bhai' form of the Prefect. Though his authority is much higher than the 'aam junta' of college students, and comparisons b/w his power and the princi's are a common topic of discussion. But, this guy who comes rarely to classes and retains his 'dadagiri' by sitting at the Union room or extending his help voluntarily at times, behaves often as your locality's 'dada' or 'bhai'. Though it would be unfair to generalise coz there are many presidents and gen secys who are really sophisticated, the share is low. After all, most of these positions stem out of strong political associations.
But, a B-school power mania is different. Here, you neither have the party infiltrations nor the gory days of election where most eligible voters are conspicuous by their absence. On the contrary, the attendance on the voting days are higher. Here you don't have fist-fights just before elections because people put up their best faces (often fake) just before the D-day, coz the 'system is more democratic'. Here, you see diplomacy of rarest maturity. Those who didn't see 'eye-to-eye' before suddenly become each other's advisor as they would be standing for different positions and would be needing each other's help to get nominated.
Week before the election day and you would find them praising each other. Suddenly they sort out their 'misunderstandings'. Well, the insincerity in that new amicability would become so evident hours after the election game is over. That is, even if those new friends are elected. If neither of them make it to the creme league, then they blame each other for it. And if one of them fits into and the other doesn't, then it leads to the funniest of consequences. The equations suddenly become that of bereaved lovers after a bitter break-up. One blaming the other for being disloyal, back-biting.
'Saala, madarc***' such invectives become the words of the day. Well, there others who don't want to go into such 'symbiotic hubs'. They rather want to impress the junta. They put up shows (mostly fake) and try to show how much they care for others and the insti. You suddenly see new initiatives being taken, clubs, games or even websites. You hear about initiatives which surprise you coz it might so happen that one of the ideas was yours but you dropped because of its 'long-standing' infeasibility. Such social workers crop up, only to go back to their shells and 'actual' self after the election days are over. If they are selected, then it had solved its purpose and they don't need to take it further. If they are not, well, why carry forward something that didn't help you win the ticket?
The problem with such initiatives is that in most cases the junta isn't a fool to not being able to see through it. "Yaar, jis nadi se tum aaye ho, uss nadi ki macchli baki sabbhi hai." So, in most cases, the camps overpower. Obviously, fairness has its own virtue. The 'perfect' guy is tough to be replaced. The junta knows what would actually benefit them. But, even such 'perfect' guys often get swayed by their insecurities. Waise, for those who get selected, sabka asli chehra toh elections ke baad hi samajh aata hai. First few days, the euphoria overpowers everything else. But, the shells break and give way to the true colours. Some actually turn out to be much better than expected, some almost as you thought, and some worse than you ever imagined. All said and done, suddenly this new team becomes the 'boss' and reactions to it are not always very positive. The worst affected person is the class representative. He, who was maintaining the chores of the class and would continue doing, finds his meatball being snatched from mouth all of a sudden. The batch wakes up to a new team, microscoping every little act of theirs, and some become aghast for no explicable reasons. Out of the defeated members, however, there are somewhose demand increases. Well, not that their demand was less before that but the position wasn't quite exactly for it. And if you can actually have the hottest chick, you needn't crib over a foul election. :P
Well, every such team has a member who even the team wishes 'nahi hota toh accha hota'. Not that he doesn't work or at least pretends to work but he suddenly places himself on a self-imposed pedestal where he thinks he is supreme. Gosh!! Fist fights are actually a rare thing in B-schools but these dunderheads even get involved in them. Well, after all they got elected to their insti by some govt's kind quota, and to their post by virtue of their intelligent friends. After all, scheming has unique ways in a b-school.
After the initial hullabaloo over the new student body settles down, another new game for power starts brewing. Those who couldn't make it now tries to impress the admin by their 'persona' and the new arrived junior brigade. Gossips brew among the new guys -- "maine suna he was a very good candidate for that post".But sadly for them, such news soon become rumours and though not totally, the 'shaayad good guys' lose importance. Financial figures yaad karna ya B-plan likhna is actually very different from managing college activities. That's what the student body members make them believe. And well, after all, for the new student body to be selected, they need the support of the former student body and not of those forlorn defeated members.
Madhur, you have much food for thought! maine toh kaafi halke halkemein likh diya, w/o going much detailed or complicated. You can actually go around and find further details J!
But, jokes apart, guys --- I don't know what is so attractive about the post. Though I am a student body member by chance (coz both of us who stood for it were whimsical, perhaps I was less), I am still flummoxed by what goes on pre and post elections. Campaigning, grouping, yahaan tak jhooth bolna bhi. 'You give me vote, I will vote for u' often turns, 'tune mujhe vote diya toh kya?' One group which came on a term to form a symbiotic camp with another during the election found themselves massively cheated. While they had given their vote and nominated the other team's member to head, their own candidate was left with no vote. Well, that's what happens when 6 young and immatured guys form synergy with 8 shrewd and experienced guys.
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