Revisiting old blogs ..... and context of 2023-2024 ::: L K Advani -- "Waqt ne kiya, kya haseen sitam" ::: Sonia 'revived' Congress, now focus on Rahul again

Meeting with Advani and many tales to tell…..

Respected L K Advani, as I know him has been a film buff himself. During his days as Home Minister, I had traveled with him to Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. 

In the freewheeling interaction, he used to share about his liking for films. 

Dec 16, 2014: Advani's office Old Parliament House

Thus on December 16 afternoon, 2014, as Advaniji came out of Lok Sabha and walked towards his room in Parliament House ..…far off secluded from political chamchas that often kept gheraoed him even till 2012…..one song that came haunting in my mind was : "waqt ne kiya, kya haseen sitam (rendered much deeper meaning than its words by the powerful voice of Geeta Dutt).

'Disciple' Modi’s "Congress Mukt Bharat" was originally a ‘Guru Advani vision’ 

I was scanning few pages from the chapter on L K Advani in my book ‘Ayodhya: Battle for Peace’. One para in page 133 read: “In course of traveling with him in BSF aircraft to northeast, he had told us how the success of regional parties like TDP, AGP and various Lok Dal groups had encouraged him (Advaniji) to believe that there was a ‘big vacuum’ as people were looking for genuine alternative to the Congress”. 

Now, that’s political vision for you! And his disciple Narendra Modi is only precisely harping on the same point in circa 2014. The lesson: a disciple only carries on the legacy of his Guru’s vision.  

But as I look back and about what we interacted (with Advani on Dec 1, 2014) ; there’s not really much to share as many things were said in confidence. In journalism, we call it “off-the-record”. Of course, a simple breaking news he shared with me was when he said, “I will revive my blogs soon”.

Then of course, he spoke a bit on the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha, a panel he is heading as the chairman. I had thought of an interview, that was flatly declined, but politely.

(In 2023, the Ethics has been in news for quite sometime vis-a-vis the unfortunate episode related to Trinamool MP, Mahua Moitra. In 2014, the Ethics panel headed by Advani was asked to look into 'Narda video footage' involving Trinamool MPs wherein the Bengal lawmakers were found accepting cash.) 

But before moving out of his room (back in 2014) I had requested Mr Advani for a selfie and he readily agreed, saying: “So everyone takes selfie…” – whatever that would mean! I had enquired about his health and his wife, Madam Kamla. “She has improved now…of course she uses a wheelchair,” he said sounding emotive.

(Unfortunately, Kamla Advani expired in 2016.) 

Half an hour later, I rushed to Parliament House canteen for lunch and as I was placing orders, I recalled our travel with Advani in 2000 to Sikkim. 

At the Chief Minister’s residence in Gangtok when a large table was laid before us – with delicious veg and non-veg Momos being most attractive of all – minutes later, Advaniji had counseled us: “pet bharna (full stomach eating) is a misconcept….one should keep enough space for water and air”. We saw him picking up one roti and two spoons of dal – that was his dinner. 

Politically the same evening, I was again lost in a debate about Congress-mukt Bharat agenda of Advani’s onetime chela, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It’s really irony on what has come out today between the two.  In 2002, it was Advani who had even chosen KPS Gill as Modi’s Security Advisor and undoubtedly the stint of the super-cop had a soothing impact in Gujarat after first three-four months of indiscriminate hate campaign and riots.

In a Facebook posting after my meeting with L K Advani on December 16, 2014; I had posed a simple question whether the not so often used maxim, “Success is the ultimate failure” would apply to the BJP patriarch.  

Unknowingly I was getting lost into a thought on Guru Dutt’s life and films, especially the path-breaking ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’. In that film, life offers the protagonist nothing but failure and humiliation. Similarly in another Guru Dutt film, Pyasa, the hero is let down by the people who are closest to him.

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Ridiculed for 'foreign origin', Congress required Sonia, what about Rahul?

This question was asked in December 2017. The Congress was set to do well in Gujarat and PM Narendra Modi's home state gave the saffron party a virtual wake up call.

What is common between Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul? 

Besides being family members of Nehru-Gandhi family and the head of Congress party, another common thread between the two is both have taken the charge of the country's oldest party amid numerous challenges.

Now that Sonia Gandhi passed on the leadership to her son – Rahul- a closer analysis of her 19-year-old stint shows no matter how much she was ridiculed by BJP and the likes of P A Sangma and Sharad Pawar for foreign origin, Sonia Gandhi was indeed ‘required’ by the Congress party when its base was shrinking.  

In the words of party veteran Karan Singh, who has said a few years back, “Sonia Gandhi had come at a time as party chief when people were leaving the Congress”.

Sonia Gandhi took over the reins of Congress on March 14, 1998 replacing the lacklustre Sitaram Kesri.

 

In 1997-98, the Congress under presidentship of low-profile Sitaram Kesri, saw large scale desertion and revolts by a number of prominent leaders like  Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, Aslam Sher Khan, Mamata Banerjee and even Mani Shankar Aiyar. 

Looking back, Sonia had also created history later by becoming the longest serving chief of the organization; once led by her towering in-laws Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and husband Rajiv Gandhi.

As a milestone, she led a virtually "written off" Congress to victory in 2004 with 145 seats and repeated the magic again in 2009 with 205 seats.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha polls - aftermath the split by Sharad Pawar, P A Sangma and Tariq Anwar, the Congress strength had come down to 112. 

This was dubbed as the 'poorest show in last millennium's last Lok Sabha polls' but it was only ironical 

that - it was also under Sonia's leadership 15 years later in 2014 that Congress tally in Lok Sabha was brought down to double digits.

The same fate was charted for the 132-year-old party as the Congress was also swept out of power 

in key states like Maharasthra, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.

Many in the party obviously laud Sonia Gandhi's leadership in ensuring party's victory in two simultaneous parliamentary polls, for holding the party together braving the onslaught of rise of regional stars like Mamata Banerjee and Naveen Patnaik and also a resurgent BJP.

 

However, Congress watchers and even party insiders on the condition of anonymity say, Sonia’s biggest folly "over centralisation of power in AICC with colleagues and aides like Ahmed Patel".

According to an Ahmedabad-based educationist, Poritosh Rawal, "Sonia Gandhi and the likes of Ahmed Patel did not allowing emergence of state leaders; this caused Congress lose ultimate control in Andhra Pradesh. Gujarat too was handled peculiarly as none were clear about high command's political

approach. For long they trusted Shankersinh Vaghela but suddenly he became a pariah".

In the north east too - onetime Congress fiefdom for decades, Sonia’s party was handed over the worst defeat in Nagaland in 2013 wherein it could simply win 8 seats in 60-member assembly. 

The regional NPF, a BJP ally, managed a comfortable majority 38 seats making a clean sweep across politically sensitive regions and made inroads into traditional Congress strongholds of Mokokchung-Dimapur and Zunheboto.  The worst was yet to come in north east.

In 2018 and 2023 assembly, the grand old party could not open account. In 2023 assembly polls in Mizoram, the Congress could win only one seat and pity, the BJP could pick up two legislators.  

Now, 2023 assembly polls are over. The Congress has wrested power in Telangana, but importantly it lost power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and could not unseat the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. Focus is back again on Rahul Gandhi even as AICC president is Malikarjun Kharge. 

ends