In 1996, while operating a computer at the BJP office in Panchkula, Nayab Singh Saini had never imagined that he would one day become the Chief Minister of Haryana. Years later came an electoral defeat in 2009, a return to the people the very next day, a decisive victory in 2014 and, eventually, opportunities to serve as Minister, Member of Parliament, State BJP President and Chief Minister.
Sharing this journey with young entrepreneurs at the ‘Gen-H Yuva Udyami Chaupal’ at Gurugram University on Friday, Chief Minister, Nayab Singh Saini, summed it up in a simple metaphor: ‘Meri Yatra Mein Koi Lift Nahi Thi, Main Mehnat Roopi Seedhiyan Chadhkar Yahan Tak Pahuncha’ (There Were No Shortcuts in My Journey, Only the Steady Climb of Hard Work).
Referring to the young participants as Gen-H, the Chief Minister gave the expression a wider meaning. ‘You call it Gen-H for Haryana; I would call it Gen-HB — Haryana-Bharat. Gen-HB is the heartbeat of India,’ he said.
In a candid and personal interaction, young entrepreneurs asked the Chief Minister direct questions about advancing in politics without a legacy, recovering from failure, technology, sports, employment, the challenge of drug abuse, startups, the pace of government functioning and family. The programme was watched live across more than 4,000 institutions.
Drawing from his own experiences, the Chief Minister urged young people not to allow failure to become their identity, but to let their work define them. Rather than chasing quick success, he asked them to make consistency, credibility and patience their strengths.
Last Meeting Ended at 1 am, Says CM
Asked how he manages his time and how much sleep he had got the previous night, Nayab Singh Saini said no day was completely a holiday for him and his normal day began early.
His last meeting the previous night, he said, had ended at 1 am. Even then, he considered it an early night because his engagements in Gurugram were to begin in the morning. He first had to attend the Public Grievances Committee meeting to hear people’s problems and then reach the interaction with the young entrepreneurs.
Create Opportunities, Don’t Wait for Them
The Chief Minister’s message at the ‘Gen-H Yuva Udyami Chaupal’ extended beyond startups and politics. At the heart of the interaction was an appeal to young people to create opportunities rather than wait for them, not regard failure as the end, embrace technology, give due weight to facts and feedback while taking decisions, remain patient in the pursuit of success and never lose sight of their responsibilities towards their families, society and the state.