{"id":58773,"date":"2009-05-30T16:05:10","date_gmt":"2009-05-30T16:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.tehelka.com\/?p=58773"},"modified":"2009-05-30T16:05:10","modified_gmt":"2009-05-30T16:05:10","slug":"the-humble-tread-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/the-humble-tread-of-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Humble Tread Of History"},"content":{"rendered":"

Manmohan Singh<\/strong>
\n\"Harinder<\/a>Harinder Baweja,<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Editor, News & Investigations<\/em>
\nFOR THE<\/strong> five years that he remained Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh was credited with little. The only things that came his way were invectives \u2014 he is weak, he is a selected, not elected PM, he takes directions from the Madam at 10 Janpath. In short, that he is a mere puppet, a rubber stamp, a man who was selected not because he had any great vision or political acumen; but because he lacked the one singular thing: Ambition.<\/span>
\n

\"Manmohan<\/a>
Photo: \u00a0AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nHindsight often lends itself to great wisdom and as Verdict 2009 is now being hailed as a victory of the troika, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi stand out as the two leaders who reaped great benefit for the Congress Party. The third (not necessarily in that order) stands tall as the Governance Man. As senior Congressman Kapil Sibal put it, \u201cThe Manmohan Singh government\u2019s contribution was huge and so was his persona, his gentlemanliness and statesmanlike demeanour. In contrast, the Advanis and Karats were seen as political animals and power-hungry opportunists.\u201d<\/span>
\nThe invectives \u2014 again on hindsight \u2014 seem to have worked. Manmohan has become the only prime minister since 1971 to win a successive victory after serving a five-year term. And suddenly, many in the Congress who have rediscovered the merits of the \u2018selected\u2019 Prime Minister are all praise for achievements they never credited him with \u2014 till the EVMs threw up the magical numbers.<\/span>
\nThe mother and son Gandhi duo had, however, invested faith in him throughout \u2014 so much so that Manmohan became the only Congressman to have ever been named as the party\u2019s candidate in advance. On earlier occasions, it was perhaps never necessary, as the Gandhi surname always came with the prime ministerial tag firmly in place. In an amazing display of faith, just before the big battle, Sonia Gandhi covered her photograph with her hand as she held up the manifesto, and said: he is our prime ministerial candidate. And so, as contemporary history is now being written, no analysis of the Victory is possible without accolades being sung to the tune of \u2018Singh is king\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

His lack of aggression was ridiculed in a rough-playing polity. But the \u2018weak\u2019 PM\u2019s decency took him past the finishing line<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cSonia chose well in 2004 and Manmohan performed well,\u2019\u2019 is the common refrain at 24, Akbar Road, the party headquarter that has come alive with fresh energy. But there is also an inside story; a lesser known secret. For the record, of course, Rahul Gandhi wasted not a second when asked the rather blunt question \u2014 Is Manmohan Singh negotiable? \u2014 by a select group of 10 journalists, including this reporter, he was interacting with. The answer could have been different. After all, it was an informal session. But, a few hours later came an email in which he chose to put this question on record and the answer read, \u201cFrom my side, I know \u2014 and I do know my mother\u2019s views on this \u2014 that he is the best prime ministerial candidate. He is our candidate and we are going to stick by him. Like we did in the nuclear deal.\u201d And now for the inside story. A very close aide of the Gandhi scion also let it be known that the young pilgrim of progress was working to a longterm agenda and was not thinking of the next five years. That was well-known. What was not, was that because of this long-term view, defeat would not have come as an irreparable blow. To quote the aide, \u201cIt will not be a big deal.\u201d<\/span>
\nThis little secret is important to make the point that even within the Congress, no one, senior or junior, had scripted a tally of 206 for the grand old party (taunted alternatively as\u00a0buddiya<\/em>\u00a0Congress and\u00a0guddiya<\/em>\u00a0Congress by Narendra Modi). To the contrary, some were prepared for defeat and that\u2019s why hindsight lends itself to great wisdom, for, the UPA emerged only a whisker away from the 272 figure. But their number shot up to 322 with help from unlikely, unconditional support by UP Chief Minister, Mayawati.<\/span>
\nTill a little before the electoral battle began, Manmohan was not seen, by his own party, as being worthy of driving the Congress\u2019 ad campaign. All posters and campaigns championed the trio with the slogan:\u00a0aam aadmi ke badhte kadam, har kadam par bharat bulandh.<\/em>\u00a0It was in stark contrast to the BJP, which positioned its entire campaign around LK Advani and the slogan: mazboot neta, nirnayak sarkar (determined leader, decisive government). The irony is inescapable \u2014 the \u2018weak\u2019 prime minister is the one who has emerged true to the BJP slogan.<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/a>KAPIL SIBAL<\/strong> is not wrong when he says that Advani and Modi contributed to Manmohan\u2019s victory by running a negative campaign. Interestingly, BJP insiders agree that Manmohan\u2019s (self) image of sobriety and decency went a long way in the UPA\u2019s victory. If the loyal urban, middle-class voter deserted the BJP and swung towards Manmohan Singh for his record of governance and the Congress\u2019 promise of stability, it was due, again, to Advani\u2019s negative campaign. The Congress trio shone brighter than Advani, Rajnath Singh and Varun Gandhi, who collectively revived toxic memories of Mandal and Mandir-style exclusivist, identity-based politics. Abhishek Singhvi, national spokesperson and Congress strategist, says, \u201cOur troika is unmatched and caught the BJP unawares. The PM symbolised decency in politics, the Congress president symbolised stability and sacrifice. Rahul Gandhi symbolised youth power and the ability to experiment. Their mutual chemistry and DNA made it an unbeatable combination.\u201d<\/span>
\nThe\u00a0Slumdog Millionaire<\/em>\u00a0tune yielded dividends.\u00a0\u201cJai Ho<\/em>\u00a0for Bharat,\u00a0Jai Ho\u00a0<\/em>for the poor and\u00a0Jai Ho<\/em>\u00a0for the people of India,\u201d is how Congress general secretary, Digvijay Singh summed up the Congress\u2019 victory. Only last year, the mild-mannered Manmohan had surprised his own colleagues by displaying nerves of steel when pushing the nuclear deal. He risked the fall of his government, and if the electorate did not punish the UPA with anti-incumbency, the credit, in large measure, must go Manmohan Singh\u2019s way.<\/span>
\nIt would, probably, be accurate to say that the \u2018invisible\u2019 Manmohan turned out to be a factor. After his bypass surgery, his doctors wouldn\u2019t allow him more than a dozen-odd public rallies, but Advani ensured that the spotlight stayed firmly on the invisible Manmohan. A senior Congressman says, \u201cThe prime minister is not a great orator but he didn\u2019t need to speak. Advani did all the talking on his behalf.\u201d And because the BJP supremo pitched the battle presidential-style, Manmohan stands taller by sheer comparison.<\/span>
\nEven by his own colleagues, Manmohan was always seen as a half \u2014 half a man, half a politician, half a leader. Adjectives always preceded any introduction, but post-elections, the technocrat-prime minister, economist-prime minister has metamorphosed into a complete person, a complete politician, a man worthy of occupying the top seat in government.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Congressman says, \u2018The PM is not a great orator but he didn\u2019t need to speak. Advani did it on his behalf\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sonia Gandhi has demonstrated that she\u00a0did<\/em>\u00a0choose well. The chemistry of the troika is evident even now. If Sonia Gandhi\u2019s demeanour is any indication, she respects the man and understands his importance. The two made their first appearance together on May 16 \u2014 after it was clear that the mandate had gone squarely in their favour \u2014 and both displayed faith and belief in each other in different ways. She waited by the door of her house till he drove in, and walking upto him, congratulated him:\u00a0\u201cmubarak ho\u201d.<\/em>\u00a0The photo-op told a story in itself. It spoke of a partnership the two had cemented. The electorate appears to have voted for this partnership. As a BJP leader remarked, \u201cIt\u2019s worked to their advantage that while Sonia spent time on the party, Manmohan had a free hand at governance.\u201d<\/span>
\nA neo-confident Manmohan is already visible. Yes, Karunanidhi and Mamata Banerjee could prove difficult allies but there is also the quiet reassurance that they will not come close to playing the role Prakash Karat and his comrades did. But even while he was managing the knives that came out each time he pushed liberalisation, disinvestments or the nuke deal, his government stayed focussed on the common India, on the idea of inclusion. This is how Rahul Gandhi articulated the government\u2019s and the party\u2019s social agenda in his interaction with the 10 journalists: \u201cWe have two models before us. One is the private sector, India Shining and a focus on issues that don\u2019t impact the people. The people of India have already demonstrated their silent resilience to this. The other model is growth with distribution, \u2014 job guarantee, food in schools and RTI. This is inclusion not just of the poor, but also of the middle classes. That is the idea of the\u00a0aam aadmi.\u201d<\/em><\/span>
\nSocial inclusion is only one of the many things that has seen Manmohan Singh rise in stature. Verdict 2009 proves that he is not just the Gandhis\u2019 or the Congress\u2019\u00a0aam aadmi.\u02da<\/em><\/span>
\nshammy@tehelka.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manmohan Singh Harinder Baweja,\u00a0Editor, News & Investigations FOR THE five years that he remained Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh was credited with little. The only things that came his way were invectives \u2014 he is weak, he is a selected, not elected PM, he takes directions from the Madam at 10 Janpath. In short, that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":58788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[56],"tags":[236,6744,886,857,579,1701,6852],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58773"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}