Has the Gandhi-Ambani family power peaked?

As a metaphor for all that is right and not-so-right in India, the Nehru- Gandhi political dynasty and the Ambani business family represent two reference points for Indian social democracy and capitalism.

Or so says Pratap Bhanu Mehta in The Indian Express today (Read here) in an interesting analysis of the power they wield and how it limits both Indian democracy and capitalism. “There is widespread muttering against their power, yet their dominance seems inescapable. We live in their shadow even when we have no faith. Indian democracy revolves around the Gandhis more than it should, as Indian capitalism revolves around the Ambanis more than it should.”

Among the parallels he draws are the following: both have stories about the past - one rooted in the political freedom movement and the other in the move for greater economic freedom for entrepreneurs; both are populist - one in the sector of votes, and the other in the capital market; both are “creatures of the state” - the Gandhis use the state for spreading patronage, the Ambanis bend it to suit their business interests.

Mehta’s conclusion, though, is that the power of both families has peaked. While India’s federal structure ensures that the Gandhis face political challenges from many quarters, the Ambanis can no longer dominate Indian business like they did in the 1990s and the last decade.

Mehta seems to hint at a stalemate with the challengers not being strong enough to dethrone dynasty or business dominance, but neither are the Gandhis or Ambanis strong enough to have it all their way.

Read this full column here.