The Usual Suspects

India Today, December 14, 1998
Dec 14, 1998

THE USUAL SUSPECTS
Just a Wild Thought

A bland despatch from an uncertain future.

Swapan Dasgupta

New Delhi. April 6, 1999: George Fernandes was today sworn in as prime minister of India by President K.R. Narayanan at a simple ceremony in the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Dressed in his familiar kurta-pyjama, the 68-year-old Samata Party leader took his oath in Hindi in a ceremony witnessed by former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and V.P. Singh, BJP leader L.K. Advani, rss chief Rajendra Singh, Leader of the Opposition Sharad Pawar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Congress President Sonia Gandhi was not present. Fernandes is the first Christian to hold the highest political office.

Twelve other ministers representing other constituents of the coalition also took their oath of office. These included representatives of the Janata Dal, Trinamool Congress, Telugu Desam, mdmk and National Conference, who were not part of the Vajpayee Government. The Shiv Sena has decided to stay out of the ministry. Although the portfolios will be distributed tomorrow, Murli Manohar Joshi of the BJP is certain to be named deputy prime minister. The ministry will be expanded after the vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha on April 13. Fernandes plans to spend the next six days campaigning for the alliance candidates in the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. "We are one cohesive unit bound by a common programme," the prime minister said while explaining his decision to also campaign for BJP candidates.

Fernandes' election followed the sudden decision of former prime minister Vajpayee to "retire" from the top job after a stormy meeting of the BJP National Executive in Delhi last week. One immediate provocation was an opinion poll which suggested a Congress majority in the event of a snap general election. There were also indications that the Congress is staging a smart recovery in Uttar Pradesh, at the cost of both the BJP and the Third Front. A BJP defeat in Uttar Pradesh is almost certain to trigger a general election with the odds favouring Sonia.

The ruling coalition believes Fernandes will be able to stem the rot and attract disgruntled Third Front voters. An energetic campaigner, the prime minister has already identified swadeshi and self-respect as the twin themes of his government. Although a Congress spokesman described Fernandes' appointment as the "desperate move of a desperate lot", political observers believe the new prime minister will be able to revive "anti-Congressism" far more effectively than the BJP. This was perhaps the reason why the RSS finally preferred Fernandes to Advani, regarded as a Hindu hardliner. The former home minister is likely to take over the reins of the BJP, without being in government. He proposed Fernandes' name in the meeting of the coalition parliamentary group. Earlier, at a meeting of BJP office-bearers, he welcomed the choice of Fernandes as symbolising "the alliance of two complementary strands of nationalism".

Speaking at his first election meeting in Agra later in the day, the new prime minister accused the Congress of "taking the spirit of India out of India". He said multinationals were welcome as investors, not as the new rulers. He said his government would promote true secularism. "Was there a single communal riot under the Vajpayee Government?" he asked. "Was I discriminated against because I am a Christian?" He advised the Congress leadership to "first understand India before wanting to rule it".

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