It is a rare sight in India that youngsters are equally dedicated to business and politics at the same time. India has seen several young politicians who run their businesses as well, but most of them are from well established political families.
Wajib Ali is different. He completed his studies in India, went abroad for higher studies, got a permanent residency to set up his business and returned to do politics in his backyard. Yes, the newly elected BSP MLA from Nagar constituency in Rajasthan?has a simple story to tell.
36 year old Wajib Ali came back to India in 2013, joined politics. He lost the election back then, but,?just five years later he defeated his BJP rival Anita Singh by 26,786 votes.?
Ali was born and brought up in Nagar. He completed his education in Rajasthan and left for Australia in 2005 to pursue his higher studies. After completing his education, he joined the family business there and currently runs eight colleges and a school in Australia.
Photo: Facebook/ Wajib Ali who contested from Nagar constituency in Rajasthan on December 07
While speaking to Indiatimes Ali informed that when he came back to India to meet his parents six years ago; he was struck by the miserable condition of his village. He thought what had he done for his community? He had a good education, was running a lucrative business in Australia but back home his village was still awaiting basic development.
¡°I wanted to make a difference in people¡¯s lives, especially in my area. My area is the most backward area of Rajasthan and in fact even in whole of India if you would see, the most backward area was Mewat in Haryana. Nagar constituency is home to many Meos. Therefore, I started thinking about how can I give back to my community.¡±
On being asked what prompted him to leave his comfortable life to contest elections in Nagar, Ali said, ¡°You should have the ability to make a difference. That is one of the reasons why I went to the elections. Now, I have got a good voice, I can go to any house and represent the issues which people of my area are facing.¡±
Education and health, the newly elected MLA believes are the two main areas that need immediate attention.
¡°I would love to focus on education because education is the only thing that has given me so much of success in my life. I would like to improve the quality of government education system in my state. A lot of people ask me why don¡¯t you run your own school or college here but that¡¯s probably not the solution because I can¡¯t serve the numbers then. Private education is not a solution, I believe I should work hard on improving the quality of government education so that everyone can benefit.¡±
Health is another area that needs to be tended to. ¡°There are a lot of issues in my mind but education and health are two fields I want to focus on in the beginning.¡±
The highlight for Ali in this elections is the fact that he was voted to power by people from all castes. ¡°In Rajasthan, nowadays, caste politics is very strong however, people from all castes voted for me because they think that this person is sacrificing his comfort to do something for the people.¡±
He feels that he can contribute to Rajasthan in ways more than one. Since his brother is also an elected councillor in Australia, Ali had the opportunity to follow Australian politics closely. ¡°Australian politics is all about pure public service.¡± he said.
"I will try to bring business here through international collaborations."
Ali, who is also a member of the International Rural council wants to help the farmers back home. ¡°Australia has now opened new visas for farmers so I will see if i can do something for them.¡±
Meanwhile, Indian National Congress emerged victorious in Rajasthan and are yet to announce their Chief Minister. Two promising candidates in line are Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot.