Columns: Race Course Road

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India Today, February 22, 1999
Feb 22, 1999

RACE COURSE ROAD
All the Right Men

Vajpayee's gang of four should stand him in good stead.

By Prabhu Chawla

Among the hallmarks of a good leader is the ability to choose the right people for the right job. After groping in the dark for almost 11 months, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has zeroed in on his own gang of four to fight his political, diplomatic and parliamentary battles. The four point men are: External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Power and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam and I&B Minister Pramod Mahajan.

All of them have been chosen for specific tasks. Last week when Vajpayee allocated the crucial department of parliamentary affairs to Kumaramangalam, the former Congress leader from Tamil Nadu, eyebrows were raised in BJP circles. There were many claimants in the party to the job which Madan Lal Khurana gave up. But ignoring their claims, Vajpayee gave the additional charge to Kumaramangalam who joined the BJP only two years ago. This when a large section in the party was already seething over Vajpayee's decision last March to make Kumaramangalam a full cabinet-rank minister.

Vajpayee of course has his own reasons. He feels Kumaramangalam is the right person to ensure the Government's smooth sailing during the crucial budget session of Parliament starting next week. He was after all the minister of state for parliamentary affairs in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government. A former student leader, Kumaramangalam has many friends among Congress leaders. He has an insight into the Congress durbar intrigues because during Rajiv Gandhi's and later Rao's regime, he was part of the durbar. During the last session of Parliament, the Government could not push through various legislations due to lack of rapport with the main opposition parties. While Khurana was successful in dealing with the allies, he could not carry the opposition leaders with him. Kumaramangalam is expected to act as a conduit between the prime minister and the Opposition and Vajpayee is determined to exploit his numerous contacts.

Vajpayee expects Fernandes to keep the allies in good humour, both in and outside Parliament. Ever since the defence minister replaced Jaswant Singh as the convener of the ruling alliance's Coordination Committee, he has been criss-crossing the country, holding parleys with demanding allies. Last week, he along with Mahajan addressed the first-ever joint rally in Calcutta with Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee. Unlike Singh, the defence minister is neither bound nor restricted by the overbearing presence of the Sangh Parivar. Fernandes has so far been successful in disarming angry allies with his informal and personal approach. And because of his secular and socialist background, he carries more credibility with both the media and the Opposition though he has been accused of compromising his position for the sake of retaining power.

Singh and Mahajan provide the prime minister both domestic and external support. Singh's low-profile diplomacy has put India back on the international scene. With his suave and persuasive style, the foreign minister has been able to dilute US hostility towards India. And it was his instant intervention which led to Vajpayee's decision to take the bus to Pakistan. It is a diplomatic coup which will enable Vajpayee to walk into Parliament later this month with confidence.

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