The Hindu Business Line : From political <I>sanyas</I> to PM's chair

P. V. NARASIMHA RAO had all but taken political sanyas in the summer of 1991. A visibly tired and disappointed Rao met journalists outside the Andhra Bhavan after a function to celebrate the Telugu New Year day, Ugadi, in mid-April that year.

The Lok Sabha elections had been announced and Rao, a senior minister in the Rajiv Gandhi Government, was not given a ticket. Nor was he a member of the Rajya Sabha at the time.

In an informal chat that warm Ugadi day, a tired Rao, with the brows beaded with perspiration, said he was going back to Andhra Pradesh. For him, it was then the end of his political innings. He saw it written on the wall. Scarcely did he know the capricious Fate had something quite different in store for him. Yes, it had chosen Rao as the man of India's destiny for the following five years.

Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister and the man-in-waiting for the top job, was assassinated just over a month after the hot Ugadi day that saw Rao all but packing off. The second phase of the post-assassination polling in the Lok Sabha elections gave the Congress enough seats to make a claim to form the government. With Rajiv removed from the scene and with his widow Sonia refusing to oblige the entreating Congressmen to take over the reins, the choice fell on the non-controversial Rao.

Soon enough Rao proved he was nobody's man and asserted his independence, not really the done thing in the Congress culture. No doubt, Rao extended all courtesies to Sonia but did not consult her on government or party matters. Sonia was not even a party member at the time. Thus did Rao do justice to the office of the Prime Minister as well as the Congress Presidency.

Many of his senior colleagues thought Rao was only a temporary Prime Minister and were waiting to have a go at the office. But wily Rao, full of political wisdom, surprised them all. He simply wore out Arjun Singh who gave Rao no end of trouble. His strategy worked well and all remained mere pretenders to the throne. Rao was his own man, pure and simple.

No doubt his tenure was shadowed by scandals. But Rao's innings of five years from 1991 to 1996 will be always remembered for the economic reforms that saved India from a certain monetary disaster. His Finance Minister and now the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, liberally acknowledges that Rao gave him the blank cheque to pursue liberalisation.

Indeed Rao was a democrat too.

(The author, a former Deputy Editor of PTI, is a New Delhi-based freelance journalist.)