Anil Anand
Perhaps he is one of his kind in Indian politics, apart from the indomitable Indira Gandhi, who emerged stronger after a crushing electoral defeat that too in the midst of a strong Narendra Modi wave. Perhaps he is one of his kind who remains indispensible never mind if Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is ruling the country or in opposition. Be it the Atal Bihari Vajpayee or the Modi regime his position has not only remained secure but he has continuously been on the ascendency.
That is Arun Jaitley for you. He has many friends and sympathisers, but list of his detractors is also spread far and wide both within BJP and elsewhere. He might be one of the most influential leaders of the party but those in awe of his multi-pronged capabilities are a sizable chunk. It is another matter that they only whisper and squirm as they cannot match him move by move.
There were many, more within the BJP than outside it, who had written his political obituary after he lost Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar in 2014 by over 1.25 lakh votes while his other party colleagues and coalition partner candidates romped home riding the Modi wave. But not he and real reasons for his defeat are still to be counted.
In the ultimate analysis whatever be the reasons or causes, he emerged much stronger after this defeat and rest is history. Many prophets of doom, mostly within the BJP, who were counting Jaitley’s days in politics after Amritsar debacle are either left licking their wounds or striving hard to maintain their relevance. Most of them including some big names are already on the margins with little chance of their fortunes being in for revival.
A darling of the media but at the same time hated with no less intensity by its other section. To some in the media he is a story teller and source of news, to others he is akin to holding a darbar with media persons in attention to carry the tales forward while there are others who wish to watch him from a distance even in the hallowed Central Hall of Parliament.
You love him or hate him but you simply cannot afford to miss him. This dictum befits Jaitley’s multifaceted persona. He is loved and hated by his supporters and opponents with the same intensity. But still the Jaitley saga lives on.
It is in this backdrop that the latest chapter of his illness that led to kidney transplant and subsequent recovery has to be viewed. Despite the fact that the lovers and haters prayed in equal terms for his quick recovery and be back in action, the army of prophets of doom did not let the opportunity go. Their predictions regarding Jaitley’s political future have already gone awry. Though he has still not returned to the corridors of North Block, the Finance Ministry headquarters, but he has more than made up for his absence from office through blogging ,social media and video conferencing.
Was the acting Finance Minister Piyush Goel in awe of his senior colleague Jaitely as the former refused to occupy the Minister’s chair and instead thought it safe to operate from a sofa-set perched across in the Finance Minister’s office? There definitely is an element of awe and at the same time strong sense of indispensability that deterred Goel from moving ahead. So the theory, propounded by the prophets of doom and Delhi’s tale carriers, that he has lost confidence of the Prime Minister and that his wings might be clipped proved wrong. Or else a direction from the top to Goel to occupy the Finance Minister’s chair would have completed the task at least acted as an indicator of changing times to him.
The decision of Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian to step down came only after Jaitley came out of the hospital and he took to tweet to explain the development and put it in proper perspective. It should be viewed from the point of view of Subramanian, and at the same time the explanation was meant to quell rumours that he was leaving the job as a dissatisfied person or over a difference of opinion with the Government. The fact that Subramanian waited for Jaitley to be back in action even though partially, to announce his decision, is self-explanatory about the current power structure in BJP particularly in respect of Finance Ministry.
Jaitley, as is widely known is a politician without a base despite having spent a life time in Delhi’s politics and having been elected as president of the prestigious Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) long back. He was never known to carry money bags till he made big in legal profession but still he managed to remain in the limelight and be darling even of the veterans Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishan Advani.
Many of us would not believe when Jaitely, much before 2014 Lok Sabha elections, started talking about the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Bhai Modi as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the days to come. Initially no one took this seriously but Jaitley’s persistent argument that only Modi with his “Gujarat success story” and “frugal and honest” image could bring BJP back to power ultimately prevailed.
Many would not believe that Jaitley was ready to forego his political guru and the ‘Rath Yatri’ Advani who scripted BJP’s story of transformation from an opposition to a ruling party. Definitely, he was reading the political currents rightly and accordingly threw his weight behind Modi at a time when none other among the BJP’s top brass could even fathom such a scenario.
There is considerable truth that he did not enjoy full support of the RSS and that Nagpur, though not daring openly knowing Modi’s backing to him, was opposed to various moves of the Finance Ministry. The irrepressible Subramanian Swamy coming out of the political wilderness to merge his one-man outfit Janata Party with BJP to ultimately bag a Rajya Sabha seat was not without a plan. And the ploy behind his political resurrection by RSS was to use him as a checkmate against Jaitley which is evident from regular tirade and criticism that Swamy has been launching against the Finance Minister. The one possible strong ire of RSS against Jaitley is said to be his close proximity to the high and mighty corporate.
Swamy and certain frontal outfits of the RSS including Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh have been brazenly criticising Jaitley and blaming him for certain financial policies as they dare not directly target the Prime Minister. However, he has remained unscathed and his position as Finance Minister and a think-tank of the BJP has also remained intact despite total silence on the part of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. It is important that they have not come out openly in Jaitley’s support but it is much more significant that the duo has given no credence to anti-Finance Minister Tirade.
It is not a hidden fact that though Modi singlehandedly won 2014 Lok Sabha elections for BJP but he recognises Jaitley’s contribution in setting the stage from where he could take off. Jaitley had acted as the back room boy long before run up to the elections.
The Modi-Jaitely relationship did not suddenly blossom on the eve of last Lok Sabha elections. Ostensibly, he is believed to have played an important role when Modi was stuck on a muddy wicket in the aftermath of infamous Gujarat riots. Probably, the shrewd Jaitely was foreseeing future political developments and had as Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha led from the front to attack and corner the UPA Government on all fronts while keeping Modi in mind and backing him for a bigger role ahead.
What remains to be seen now is how actively would he be involved in formulating strategies for 2019 Lok Sabha elections to ensure Modi’s return as Prime Minister? Will he confine himself, as Finance Minister, to defending the Government on the issues of demonetisation and GST or will he go all out simultaneously to plan electoral strategies? This would be known once he gets back into full gear after full recovery.
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