It was some turf talking at the Asian Society's 'Young Turks on the Political Turf' event at the Nehru Centre's Hall of Culture (Worli) late Wednesday evening. A panel discussion featured Jayant Chaudhary, vice-president of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Milind Deora, former Congress MP from South Mumbai, Praful Patel, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Shaina NC, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson and treasurer, Maharashtra. The discussion was moderated by political journalist Priya Sahgal. Patel though, as senior statesman, also intervened in the ebb and flow of the debate.

Aspirations shift
The seasoned politician went on to warn his audience, which spanned the gamut from young to those with more salt than pepper in their hair, "whichever government comes to power will never be able to meet 100 per cent of people's aspirations." Patel cautioned younger politicians that, "Longevity in public life is going to get increasingly challenging. I am here to stay though, not going anywhere," he said to laughs.