Educated Politicians?

A couple of months ago i was excited to read that some Ex-IITians floated a political party in UP and that they were going to contest elections from key constituencies. After the election results were declared these bright and brave candidates had to face ignominy. They amassed an abysmally low vote count and even lost their deposits. I guess UP is bereft of an educated vote bank and what appalls me is that this is happening at a time when all claim India to be an emerging knowledge superpower. With this defeat, we have reiterated that politics is a game of the brawn and not brains. An intellectual and well-read politician is revered through out the developed world. I remember watching Charlie Rose talk to a US corporate big-wig about P Chidambaram and emphasizing his degree from Harvard; Charlie also spoke about Dr. Manmohan Singh with special stress on his Oxford education. Some of China's top decision makers are academically highly qualified, who obtained their advanced degrees from top US schools. India needs more erudite decision makers at the helm to sustain the behemoth of an economy she is progressing towards. So we wish the UP election outcome was only a blemish to be forgotten. May the educated polticians emerge victorious in the next election. The problem in India is that many of the educated abstain from voting. This is a severe epidemic plaguing the country and is proving too expensive.