VIEWPOINT
AMITABH SHUKLA
The General has been changed at a
time when the troops were lying low and were on the verge of surrendering. The
change of guard in Congress in poll bound Himachal Pradesh has thrown several
questions than it has answered even as the troops under the command of the
General are now dusting their arms when the battle cry has been made.
Being projected as the magic wand
of the faction ridden Congress, two months before the Assembly elections,
five-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has a Herculean task in front of him -
motivating the Congress cadres and making them fighting fit for the polls. This
is not going to be an easy task for the new General.
The Raja Saheb, as he is known
amongst his supporters and one who jealously guards the tag of royalty, has
upped the ante against the BJP Government in the State on the single point
agenda of corruption. Ironically, corruption was precisely the reason why he
had to hastily resign from his job as Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises — a ministry which he never liked in the first place after Steel
was taken away from him.
A court in Shimla framed charges
against him under Prevention of Corruption Act in the “CD case” and the most
well known face of Himachal Congress had to quit in disgrace, giving ample
ammunition to the Opposition at the national level to target the UPA and
Congress.
Before him, it was A Raja who was
not only forced to leave the Manmohan Singh Cabinet on corruption charges but
also spend over a year in jail in the 2G spectrum scam. So in UPA-II, Singh has
dubious company with Raja as both had to leave the Cabinet unceremoniously.
On the corruption charges against
him, the aggressive leader says what dozens of politicians before him, facing
corruption or criminal charges, have already said. “This is a frame-up by the
Opposition. I have done no wrong. I have full faith in the judiciary”.
As Virbhadra Singh took over as
PCC chief and on the same day staged a violent demonstration before the State
Assembly in Shimla to protest the acts of omission and commission of the Prem
Kumar Dhumal Government, another problem was in store for him. The Himachal
Pradesh High Court directed him to face the trial in a special court and
refused to entertain his petition seeking either the transfer of the corruption
case to the CBI or quashing a police complaint against Virbhadra Singh and his
wife.
Nothing could be more ironical
and contradictory in the hill State than the case of Virbhadra Singh. The man
who wants to pin down the State Government on some vague charges of corruption
is facing a specific charge in a court of law. “I fail to understand why the
Congress leadership is taking the people of the State for granted. A tainted
person, who is facing a court case, is the spearhead of a campaign which is
based on corruption,” a senior party leader, Virbhadra’s detractor said. Many
in the State Congress felt that it was time to build a new leadership rather
than banking on a wounded war horse whose strategy itself is suspect and is
unlikely to help.
The central leadership of the
Congress had never been bullied the way Virbhadra did. He succeeded in arm twisting the leadership
in getting what he wanted the post of PCC chief so that he gets tickets for the
maximum number of his camp followers. Jagan Mohan Reddy tried the same trick in
Andhra Pradesh after the death of his father YSR Reddy but failed. Virbhadra
flexed his muscles, threw tantrums and adopted a posturing that he could join
either the NCP or the Trinamool Congress.
Sensing the dismal record of the
Congress country wide where it has lost one state after the other — the most
recent being Punjab — the appointment of Virbhadra is
more of a defensive strategy rather than an aggressive one. Had Virbhadra
joined either the NCP or the Trinamool, the defeat of the Congress would have
been a foregone conclusion. His appointment as the Pradesh Congress president
may not alter the equations much coming just a few weeks before the polls, but
at least the central leadership could have sent a message that old political
tricks do not have a place in this age.
Virbhadra’s political career is
half a century old, having being elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time
way back in 1962. He has been a five-time MP, seven-time MLA and Chief Minister
of the State for five times. His towering presence and political acumen ensured
that all his rivals in the State Congress were dwarfed.
In fact, none of them were
allowed to grow as he wanted say in the decision making every time an
“inconvenient” Congress leader came on the way, the recent example being the
last PCC chief, Kaul Singh Thakur. The soft spoken and suave Vidya Stokes never
got a chance to don the mantle of chief ministership nor did anyone else.
For Singh, the political mantra
was “my way or the highway” from the beginning. The latest episode only
demonstrates his political strategy. But clearly, times have changed. The voter
has become much more aware and demanding. They won’t go for the “client-patron”
relationship type of politics for which Virbhadra is known. It is here that the
Congress will have to bear the brunt of voter’s indifference as it has
practically declared that he would be the Chief Minister if the party wins the
polls, expected to be held in the last week of October or early November.
Even in politics, there is a sell
by date if not the age of politicians, certainly what they stand up for. Voters
look for fresh ideas, strategy and vision. Many, even his supporters, would
agree that the former Union Minister and Chief Minister has given all he has
and there is nothing more for him to give to the aspiring youth of the State.
For the last 27 years, after
1985, Himachal Pradesh has thrown out the incumbent Government and voted for
the Opposition. While Congress has been the beneficiary one time, BJP won the
next time round.
Though this logic has gone for a
six in neighbouring Punjab earlier this year and a large number of states over
the years — Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Odisha — Singh is thinking that this time it is his chance by
default. The voters of the state would have the last laugh. (September 3, 2012)
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/chandigarh/91957-the-curious-case-of-virbhadra-singh.html
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