Fight Of The Patriarch

His performance as vice-president won him laurels from all parties. Armed with his charm and stature, undaunted by the numbers on the other side, the NDA candidate is enjoying every bit of the battle.

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DOING HIS MATHS: With some of his own allies turning against him, there is a tough battle ahead In a political career spanning half a century, the old warhorse is campaigning for a ‘conscience vote’.

The 84-year-old has made no secret of his desire to move into Rashtrapati Bhavan. While the Congress spent over a month dithering between the two Patils (at least half a dozen names were discussed, starting with Shivraj and finally zeroing in on Pratibha), the BJP was quite clear about its candidate. Even when the Third Front threw in A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s name, it was not the BJP but Shekhawat himself who withdrew in favour of the current president. In what is fast becoming the dirtiest Presidential election ever, his has been the single act of grace. As Cabinet ministers chided Kalam, the vice-president, already exuding presidential gravitas, issued a statement: “These high offices of the Republic are not for political contention or controversy. These are onerous responsibilities which must be discharged with due seriousness and dignity. I have not been found wanting in this regard for the last 55 years and will not be found wanting.” However, once Kalam bowed out, Shekhawat was back in the reckoning. Stepping up the political symbolism, the proud patriarch chose June 25, the 32nd anniversary of the Emergency, to file his nomination amidst cries of “Hindustan ka ek hi sinh—Bhairon Singh, Bhairon Singh”. The Lion of Rajasthan said nothing, but the smile on his face betrayed how much he was enjoying it all. This will be his last political battle and he is doing his damnedest to make it a thriller: “Do I look like someone who leaves the field?”

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THE CHALLENGE: The NDA is hoping Shekhawat’s cross-party appeal will transcend the saffron divide

It is going to be a tough battle for the Thakur, who also happens to be the only candidate who fits the Left’s description of the ideal president: one with political stature. Looking dialectically ridiculous, the apparatchiks are rewriting the definition of political stature for the sake of 10 Janpath. The UPA may be well past the halfway mark, but Shekhawat’s campaign managers contend it’s not simple arithmetic but algebra that is going to swing the race for their candidate. What they are counting on is Shekhawat’s equation with political leaders across party lines. As chief minister of Rajasthan, he was local guardian to RJD chief Lalu Yadav's daughters studying in Ajmer; when NCP leader Sharad Pawar turned 61 last year, Shekhawat flew to Mumbai to release a coffee table book in his honour; when he completed four years as chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, it was communist leader Sitaram Yechury who pointed out that his conduct had been “above board on all occasions”. But most telling of all, when he was elected vice-president, Shekhawat surprised his own allies by polling 74 votes from the non-NDA camp. The saffron camp is hoping for a repeat of that trick.

The Congress is all too aware of Shekhawat’s lethal charm and popularity. After all, it was Congress candidate Sushil Kumar Shinde that he had defeated in that vice-presidential election. The Shekhawat factor weighed heavily in the selection of the UPA candidate. Pawar gave the game away when Sonia Gandhi announced Pratibha Patil’s name by adding that the lady is also a Shekhawat. Even the gender factor was socially engineered to take on the Thakur. When Patil tried to play the caste card against Shekhawat, she was trumped. On arriving in Delhi, she cheerfully announced that she planned to call on him. But Shekhawat, well-versed in the nuances of realpolitik, realised that if a bahu from his community asked for his blessings, it would be churlish of him to contest against her. Pre-empting this move, Shekhawat drove down to Jodhpur House in the Capital, where Patil was camping. Coffee and small talk dominated the half-hour meeting.

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“When Kalam was in the race, Shekhawat withdrew. Now he is in. What kind of saudebaazi (trading) is this?” BAL THACKERAY SHIV SENA CHIEF

Yet the game has only just begun and there could be many a slip between the cup and the lip. Citing regional compulsions, one of the NDA’s own allies, the Shiv Sena, has announced that it will not support Shekhawat, backing Patil instead. Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray also accused Shekhawat of being indecisive. “When Kalam was in the race, Shekhawat withdrew. Now that Kalam is out, he is in. What kind of saudebaazi (trading) is this,” he asked. This led to a storm of righteous indignation within the BJP. Few buy the Sena’s theory of Maratha pride. Shekhawat’s media manager, the BJP’s fiery Sushma Swaraj, lashed back asking, “If we put up a Bengali leader, would the CPI(M) support him?” The BJP has threatened to review its ties with the Sena after the presidential polls. General Secretary Gopinath Munde pointed out that “during the last vice-presidential election, the Sena had no problems backing Shekhawat against another Maharashtrian.” The Congress, too, has stepped up its campaign. It is critical of Shekhawat’s decision to contest the elections without resigning from his vice-presidentship. “He is not constitutionally bound to do so, but we feel that since Patil has resigned as governor, so should Shekhawat,” says P.R. Dasmunshi, parliamentary affairs minister.

The born-again Third Front is yet to return Shekhawat’s goodwill gesture and pledge its absolute support. Although Shekhawat says he’s contesting as an Independent, few are fooled. As the CPI(M) says, he can’t hide his life-long association with the BJP and the RSS. The TDP and the Samajwadi Party are divided on the question of supporting a saffron man, and yet don’t want to support the Congress candidate. Some, like sp General Secretary Azam Khan, think it’s a futile debate. “Mayawati formed the government three times with the help of the BJP, but did not lose out on Muslim votes,” he told the media. His leaders, however, are tightlipped. Shekhawat is not. The Rajput leader says he is confident that “the numbers are in my favour... I don’t want to disclose the basis”. It is statements like these that scare the Congress.

The patriarch who has presided over the House of Elders for the last five years as a sort of modern-day Bhishma Pitamah is now campaigning for the ‘conscience vote’. As a slogan, it works. After all, this is what defeated the Congress’s official candidate Sanjiva Reddy in 1969 when Indira Gandhi asked for a ‘conscience vote’ in favour of her nominee, V.V. Giri. Moreover, unlike the UPA candidate, the dhoti-clad, tobacco-chewing Shekhawat has lived the past half century in public glare. He has been an elected member of the legislature since 1952 except for a brief spell of two years. His colleagues don’t have to hit a search engine to figure out his politics. And it doesn’t always conform to type. When most Rajput leaders supported Roop Kanwar’s sati in 1987, he took to the streets denouncing it in the strongest political terms. He has advocated stern action against rapists but also faced flak from women activists when he protected innocents indicted in false rape cases. He is one of the few Rajput leaders to have campaigned actively for widow remarriage.

He may be able to sway the masses but he could do little to change the conservative mindset of his own family. Despite his pleas, his wife refused to let him send their grand-daughter Moomal to London for higher studies. “Family pressures can be unbearable at times,” he muttered somewhat ruefully. So you win some and lose some. Shekhawat is too seasoned a player to let little defeats bog him down. For most of his stint as chief minister and as vice-president, he has had to deal with a Congress government in power at the Centre. When he was chief minister, his partymen used to grumble that he was more considerate to the Opposition than to his own party, Shekhawat retorted that in politics there can be opposition, but there should be no enemies.

At six feet tall, Shekhawat’s larger-than-life persona is the icing on one of the most colourful political campaigns in presidential history. Whether he wins the presidential sweepstakes or not, his term as vice-president is coming to an end. It is his off-the-cuff pithy comments that his colleagues say they will miss the most. During Question Hour, when some members claimed that leprosy was a communicable disease, Shekhawat commented that while leprosy was not, asking questions seemed to be a communicable disease. Unlike some “loudspeakers” in the Lok Sabha, he has never raised his voice in the house—one scathing look from under his bushy eyebrows usually does the trick. Wrestler-turned-politician Dara Singh once told him, “My wife often watches the proceedings of the House on TV and wonders at the way you control the House.” Shekhawat smiled and said, “Maybe after watching TV she will learn to control you as well!”

Has Shekhawat been used by the BJP to fight a battle that is stacked against him? If anyone can win this fight, it is Shekhawat, say NDA leaders. The vice-president says he is confident. Not too long ago, Farooq Abdullah had wondered how the octogenarian always managed to look so red in the cheeks, and asked if he wore rouge. Shekhawat did not answer then. The grand old man at the peak of his fighting spirit is not giving out any answers even now.

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