Politics it seems is good for business. Meet Swadheen, the reclusive entrepreneur. Some see him as the invisible enabler of democracy while others regard him as cynical and opportunistic – one who profits from its corruption. Whether you turn admirer or accuser, you will come away from meeting him acknowledging his daring, foresight and risk-taking.

It took many attempts to get his attention and many more to have him speak to me. Here is Swadheen in his own words.

The inspiration

Where I come from, business is very much a part of our genetic coding. I too dabbled with different business ideas. Just on a modest scale. Nothing big. A themed restaurant, a home-stay, and things like that. But I was hoping to make it big one day.

Once, I was tracking a large number of legislators on the move in air-conditioned buses to safe spots, away from predatory opposition parties keen to topple a government. While the episode was deeply depressing, it provided me with the seed of an idea which today has grown into a vast enterprise.

The early days…

I went into some detail when the incident I just mentioned happened. I realized that there weren’t many sites easily accessible to house and isolate large groups at short notice. Our elected representatives had to sometimes travel many hours and even be moved from one venue to another at short notice, and that too, stealthily. Many of them were old and needed medical attention and monitoring. Like this, I came upon many aspects that were important to bear in mind when I rolled out my business idea.

 I decided that I will enter the resorts business with a focus on facilitating off-site meetings of people’s representatives – elected or otherwise – keen on processes of government formation. I started with one resort in Gujarat. It just seemed convenient and closer home. I retained a small wing for holiday-goers and people who wanted to get away for the weekends. This covered some of my costs. But the rest of the property was available to any political party and its representatives. It was accessible, affordable, and had meeting rooms for small and large groups to confer.

The response was encouraging and I was confident that this could be developed as a segment – niche, targeted and unique. We learnt a lot over the years, and we continue to learn to this day. I felt I felt that I too was doing my part in our democracy.

The impetus to grow

In the second year of operation, I hired an MBA graduate to work with me. He was not keen on the corporate rat-race and wanted to do something different… for the country. He studied trends in the tenure of state assemblies and at the Centre, the various political parties, their operating principles and decision making, the nature of coalitions and the processes of their formation, their leaders’ profiles and intra-party dynamics. He also collated data on the number of states likely to go to polls in the normal course over the next five years, and made some assumptions on which ones are likely to have a change of leadership mid-term, change in government mid-course… you get the idea. He and I created interesting matrices to help arrive at the overall perspective plan and specific milestones and goals. I now had a good idea of the number and location of resorts I needed to add over five years, their size (number of rooms, meeting halls, etc.), likely occupancy levels and spread, amenities to provide for, revenue, cost structure, pricing, profitability, contract terms, etc.

We understood that our business is an all-season, all-weather, party-neutral and ideology-agnostic business. I learnt this from my Management boys. In the unlikely event – very remote I should add – that the political culture changes, and party members don’t have to huddle in off-site locations, my resorts can quickly make the switch to being perfect for businesses, trade conferences and retreats. So, we were confident in moving ahead with our growth plans. And as I said, we learnt every day and added services.

The size and scale of the business

We now have 18 resorts. Our aim is to have one or more in every state. So, we have some way to go. We are also now developing the concept of offshore floating resorts that can be docked some distance away from the shore. It confers some unique advantages in terms of restricting access and security. It also adds a novelty factor. With our years of experience, we are able to suggest which resorts might be appropriate for a state, keeping in mind a variety of factors. Call it a value-add. Yes, for a state legislature group, being at a resort close to the state capital is not always the first choice.

A one stop shop: A staggering array of services

We are now a fully integrated end-to-end service provider. Why I say this will become clearer. 

We have three broad categories of resorts based on how many representatives it can accommodate. The largest can take about 250. We have also three packages when it comes to amenities: Platinum, Gold and Silver. I don’t like these names personally, but we have gone by names common in the business. Here, I will let you in on something only old-timers might remember: the names were initially Saffron, White and Green – names I had given when I was awash with patriotic fervour. But I ran into difficulties with some parties who objected and refused to consider the Saffron package.

We offer all manner of services, covering safe and speedy transportation and in-resort services. We provide private security guards including armed escorts for representatives (we have a strict policy against private armies), a fleet of air-conditioned buses with reclining seats or flat-bed arrangements with four hours notice, chartered air taxis (helicopters and jets), and fully equipped medical assistance vans with a doctor on duty traveling with the convoy. In the odd instance, we have even arranged convoys as decoys to lend the right level of surprise and stealth! Every resort also has rapid response transport units for inter-resort transfers accompanied by a mobile kitchen. We have excellent relations with the police / law enforcement in all states, the civil aviation regulators and airport authorities. So, smooth passage is assured.

All our resorts have high compound walls, and optionally, electrified perimeter fencing. It keeps away unwanted people and helps confine guests who may be tempted to leave of their own accord. We have light, durable and easily movable furniture with rounded edges to prevent serious injury in any incident – unintentional or deliberate. Large meeting rooms, smaller breakout rooms, with videoconferencing and videography are standard features. On demand, we also make available discreetly placed cameras and listening devices.

Every resort has a store selling garlands and shawls, party flags, banners and stickers, and party-specific attire in party colours, keeping in mind that in there may be instances where people have to hop on to buses without notice and be taken to places they aren’t told about.

Our resorts have designated areas for prayer, havans, yagna, yoga, meditation, chanting, etc. We have cows, buffalos, horses, goats, chickens, ducks and camels housed hygienically and accessible to guests as specified, and the services of priests, astrologers, doctors, barbers, masseurs, and typists on demand. Our round the clock bar and well-designed nooks and corners for tête-à-têtes to stay inconspicuous often find mention among our guests.

In recent years, water cannons, fire tenders and other anti-riot equipment were requested on stand-by by some parties. We have now rolled it up into our service categories. Similarly, access to a master switch for power supply to meeting halls and guest quarters by a specified party functionary was insisted on by one party. We now have this as an option in all our properties.

Building on internal strategic thinking, we studied many swearing-in ceremonies and the settings and now have ready-to-deploy regal props to support a swearing-in at the resort, in person, or through video-link.

This is just to give you a glimpse of how we have tailored our services to stay customer-focused.

The formula for success

First, service is our credo. We serve political parties, but we don’t play politics. We approached it professionally. Who I vote for has no bearing on political parties or formations I do business with. My leadership team has a free hand to serve customers within an overall framework of values, principles, and budgets. We observe customers closely and listen deeply. We thus derive insights and translate them into offerings or business / service improvement.

Second, We help every member in our organisation see that we are serving the nation by serving our guests. At every property, we have a national anthem service twice a day, open to all and absolutely free, followed by tea and snacks, also free. Our people are proud patriots.

Third, our planning is very detailed. As business has grown, I now have more partners and competent professionals; they fan out across the country well before the start of the financial year to meet with the leadership teams of national and state parties to gauge their intents and plans to test the political waters, make bids for power or to increase their strength in the assemblies/parliament. We share our insights and also the enhancements we have to our offerings. At the end of the consultation, we reach an agreement with each party on the number of room nights for the year, the order of preference of properties, the package of services most suited to their leaders’ profiles, and other contract terms. Since we know the financial capacity of various parties, we anticipate what services they can bid for. We insist on a stiff advance. We recommend short stays – it encourages quick dispute resolution and decision making, and discourages splinter groups and new factions. Our analysis also showed that in a stay beyond ten days, there are risks to the property and staff, as guests tended to get restive, argumentative and occasionally violent. Our clients know this now.

In sum, we share what we learn from being in this business. We were a pioneer and have remained unchallenged. We are constantly innovating. We are making it easy for the political system as it engages with the processes of democracy and governance. We serve. We earn. We learn. We grow. The wheels of the nation never stop. We are there all the way, with every twist and turn.

(This post is a work of fiction)