The Rediff Special /Surabhi Banerjee
A member of the BJP later admitted that
if Jyoti Basu had emerged as the Front leader they would have
faced a serious crisis
After the Politburo meeting concluded on
May 12, an exhausted
Basu returned to Banga Bhavan. He took a few calls from well-wishers
and politicians in his bedroom, had his cup of tea. 'But it was
not time to call it a day a yet.' A few minutes later, one of
his cabinet colleagues, a member of the Central Committee, arrived.
Their discussion veered to their stand in the emergency Central
Committee meeting that was to be convened the next morning. .
He seemed to share Basu's views on joining the coalition. 'You
can't carry on endless discussions. At one point you simply have
to stop and take the decision, which, whatever be the magnitude
of the issue, can only be a brave yes or a dry no,' remarks Basu.
The Central Committee met on the morning of May 13. Basu presided
over the meeting. Harkishen Singh Surjeet presented a note on
the discussions in the Politburo and the majority and the minority
views. The issue sparked off a heated debate which went on for
several hours -- but the majority decision was not to join the
United Front government.
Basu displayed a calm exterior during
the meeting but a fierce storm was brewing within. 'At one point,
I thought that we've been patient enough, enough is enough, and
it is time put the issue to the vote - a rare occurrence in the
history of the Central Committee.' The majority voted against joining
the government. Thirty-five votes were cast by the majority against
twenty for the minority view with four remaining undecided.
Meanwhile, as the Central Committee deliberated, the main partners
in the central coalition met at Bihar Bhavan and unanimously decided
on Jyoti Basu as their candidate for prime minister as V P Singh
had declared that he would not be available for the position.
The Third Front leaders came to know the decision of the Central
Committee of the CPI-M at about four o'clock in the evening.
Most leaders criticised the decision. Basu and Surjeet reached
Bihar Bhavan at about seven thirty , with a copy of the decision
of the Central Committee. The meeting room was brimming with important
political leaders, among them Indrajit Gupta, Mulayam Singh Yadav,
Laloo Prasad Yadav, I K Gujral, Surendra Mohan, Ram Vilas Paswan
and Wasim Ahmed. V P Singh was not there. He had just returned
from Udhampur in Jammu and had driven home straight from the airport
because he was feeling out of sorts.
The decision of the CPI-M came to the Front as a bolt from the
blue. Basu explained the resolution of the Central Committee to
its members. Mulayam was visibly disappointed. In fact, all of
them were at a loss. A crisis loomed large. If they could not choose
their leader, the BJP was going to form the government.
Nobody noticed that Wasim Ahmed, a close associate of V P Singh, had
quietly slipped out of the room while the discussions were on.
He rushed to V P's house and briefed him on the latest developments.
The leaders requested the CPI-M to reconsider its decision in
view of the threat of communalist forces hijacking the government.
Surjeet promised to ask the Central Committee to review its decision.
There was quite a crowd waiting for Basu upon his return to Banga
Bhavan, journalists, supporters, politicians, all wanting him
to appraise them of the latest developments. Basu refused to oblige
them and went straight to his suite where his son Chandan had
been waiting for some time. Chandan told him that Narasimha Rao
had called to enquire whether his father would take over.
The BJP felt threatened. A member of the BJP later admitted that
if Jyoti Basu had emerged as the Front leader they would have
faced a serious crisis. Basu took important calls, had dinner
with his son Chandan and some other friends and relations. Chandan
was vehemently opposed to his father becoming the prime minister
as the family would be under great pressure and in danger from
political and extremist groups. Basu told him it was a political
issue and his opinion did not count.
Excerpted from Jyoti Basu, by Surabhi Banerjee, Viking, 1997, Rs 400, with
the publisher's permission.
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