17.5.09

Singh does a Nehru

After Jawaharlal Nehru, Manmohan Singh will be the first Indian premier to serve a second term after a full first term. That by itself is an envious milestone in Indian politics.He wasn’t supposed to have any kind of personal equity. When Sonia Gandhi nominated him to the post in ’04, he was only the most non-controversial person with no personal ambitions that she trusted. Rumours swirled about how she refused to allow him to get a Lok Sabha seat. For five years, Manmohan has battled the popular perception that he isn’t master of himself. But somewhere during those years, Manmohan showed that there were certain things he believed in, and a few things that he was willing to fight for, certainly one thing where he stared down the Left and the BJP—and won. The nuclear deal, which will remain up there with Manmohan Singh’s other legacy of economic reforms showed an important facet of Singh to the nation, even if they didn’t quite understand the intricacies of the deal. That the man believed in something that would yield results many years down the line. But it showed a man with a vision for India—a vision for its development. If the nuke deal revealed CPM leader Prakash Karat’s intense dislike for Singh, the poll campaign brought Singh back into the crosshairs of a very nasty, personalized attack by LK Advani. But this was probably one of the reasons that left Advani poorer. The poll results gives Singh a different profile, a “brand equity” if you will. Self-effacing to the extreme, Singh was mumbling to the press on Saturday afternoon, as he stood with Sonia to take a bow. He has never taken the forceful path, his dependence on consultations has delayed decisions to the extent that he has frequently seemed unsure and undecided. That may not change, but his supporters are hoping he will be a little more confident this time round. Talking to friends a few days ago, Singh’s only concern was India should not have an unstable government when the neighbourhood is in turmoil and the slowdown needs skillful handling. It’s a sentiment that has not even touched other leaders’ campaigns.

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