Word: mallya
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...this has made Mallya one of India's richest men (although he's uncharacteristically shy when it comes to discussing how much he's worth). It's a wealth that he's spent liberally, building mansions throughout the country, throwing lavish parties, buying India's most successful football teams-East Bengal and Mohun Bagan-and breeding famous racehorses...
...however, Mallya astonished everyone by deciding to enter politics. Although big business has always been a crucial source of campaign funds, politicians have traditionally maintained an air of Gandhian poverty, dressing in hand-spun clothes and driving battered domestic Ambassador automobiles. Mallya, by contrast, openly celebrates his wealth, and with his wife and two daughters in America and a son at school in England, his connection to India sometimes seems tenuous. Nonetheless, Mallya ran for an indirect election (in which votes are cast only by members of state legislatures) to India's largely ceremonial upper house of Parliament...
...What is the difference between politics and business?" Mallya demands. Noting that U.S. President George W. Bush started off as an oil executive, Mallya argues that India's political system needs a dash of businesslike efficiency. "There's no accountability in Indian politics," he growls, pointing out that although politician after politician has promised to improve Karnataka's capital of Bangalore, traffic is congested, the electricity frequently fails and pollution is getting worse...
...certainly does not shy from spending his business wealth on his political pursuits. He says he's contributed $220,000 so far to the Janata Party, although many Indian political experts suspect the actual figure is much higher. Mallya's critics, in fact, complain that he has come this far solely because of his fortune. His 2002 election to Parliament was dogged by rumors that he bribed members of a prominent political party-rumors that he denies. Nor was that his first brush with accusations of financial impropriety. In 1999 Indian officials charged that he had violated the country...
...deep pockets be enough to win him the political power-and thus the respect-that he craves? Many doubt it. "You can't buy votes in this state," says N. Gururaj, editor of the Udayavani, an influential Kannada-language newspaper. Indeed, the politics of caste still count-and Mallya, a member of a tiny mercantile caste, has yet to win over the support of any major caste in Karnataka. Certainly, many of his views should resonate with the state's hard-hit rural masses. He notes with outrage that some of the state's farmers, charged interest rates...