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Convention Time

As the April sun blazed down on Mumbai, hundreds of workers put up a huge pandal at Bandra Reclamation, exactly in front of my home. Huge banners and posters went up all over the place, welcoming Mulayam Singh Yadav, former defence minister in the United Front government. Mulayam Singh and his followers had assembled in the city for a two-day convention of their Samajwadi Party.

I did not attend the convention. For one, the days when I reported such events are over. Secondly, I am not an admirer of Mulayam Singh or his stalwart representative in Mumbai, film star Raj Babbar. But the convention was attended by scores of people from far and near. Mulayam Singh, rightly or wrongly, is perceived as an aggressive supporter of the Muslims and Dalits.

The national press was fairly well represented at the convention. Many wellknown political correspondents covered the event and will no doubt analyse its impact on national affairs soon. I know the drill, having done it in my days as a reporter. Such assignments were much sought-after by reporters. Why, sometimes you could be rewarded with a by-line on the front page.

Since India has the largest number of political parties, it has also had to put up with the largest number of political conventions. Often these cause law and order problems. Members of political parties arriving for party conventions do not think they need to pay for rail tickets. Nor do they distinguish between reserved and unreserved coaches. These masses believe that India belongs to them and it is not necessary to pay for food, drink, travel or accommodation. Since party workers travel in large numbers, railway, hotel and even the police authorities avoid crossing their path.

But it was not always like this. The first convention I attended was in 1950 when the Congress organised a meeting in Chennai. I was in school and did not know much of politics. One of my relatives who received an invitation to attend the convention took me along. Around a thousand people were present, including most prominent Congress leaders. There were speeches, mild applause before everyone adjourned for coffee and tiffin.

One speech stood out. After all these years, I remember it clearly. It was by Rajaji, a frail, old man who made a remarkable speech full of solid common-sense and a touch of subtle humour. Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel also spoke, but that day clearly belonged to Rajaji. He spoke of an India which would set an example in being really free, fearless, prosperous and free from any prejudice. Rajaji spoke for about 20 minutes, quoted from the Tamil classics as the audience listened spellbound.

You could have heard a pin drop when the leaders made their speeches. No jostling or stampede towards the tables where coffee and tiffin were served. I asked my relative if politicians were as disciplined as this all the time. "When the big leaders are present, everyone is on his/her best behaviour," he replied.

Ten years later, in 1960, I was present at the All India Congress Committee session at Bhavnagar, Gujarat. This time, I accompanied a Gujarati friend, whose father was a local Congress leader. This meeting was an out and out Nehru show. Panditji appeared in the best of spirits. He spoke, laughed and shadow boxed with some Congress leaders. One newspaper published a memorable picture of Nehru having a pillow fight with some of his colleagues on the dais.

I had always admired Nehru and this was the first time I saw him at close quarters. There was something very attractive and appealing about him. When he spoke to the audience, I felt he was talking directly to me. His voice was mesmerising. The speech was full of memorable quotations. I returned home thinking how lucky India was to have a leader like Nehru.

Nine years later, at Gandhinagar in Gujarat, I attended yet another Congress session. This time, it was the fragmented Congress-O whose leaders like Morarji Desai, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and S K Patil had fallen out with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The old and tired Congressmen were no match for Indira. But since Morarji wielded considerable clout in Gujarat, the Gandhinagar convention was well attended and led to the formation of the 'Syndicate' consisting of the Congress-O, the Jan Sangh and the Praja Socialist Party.

At the Gandhinagar convention, the old Congress stalwarts constantly abused Indira Gandhi and her style of politics. By now, I was a journalist. As a rookie reporter I rubbed shoulders with the media heavyweights from Delhi who seemed to know each and every politician. I was relegated to doing offbeat stories, but I did not mind. The ji huzoor attitude of Delhi's political correspondents sickened me. How they fawned at these discredited politicians!

I bet journalists like these were present in full strength at the Samajwadi convention this week. After all, Mulayam Singh, according to some sources, is a leader with prime ministerial potential! I am sure lunch was a lavish affair with gifts afterwards for the hardworking scribes.

V Gangadhar