Will the Sun rise from India's East?

Will the Sun rise from India's East?
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All parts of India have given birth to a prime minister, except theeastern. Subhash Chandra Bose and Jyoti Basu, both sons of the East,came close to leading the nation but destiny willed otherwise. PranabMukherjee is the only viable candidate from the region today and werehe to miss his chance, expect it to be a while before another localemerges to ascend the throne of Delhi.

Upon Indira Gandhi's sudden death in 1984, intrigue blanketed thecorridors of power in Delhi. Dark rumours swirled that Mr. Mukherjee,then the senior-most cabinet minister, had, citing precedence, angledfor the premier's post, if only for the interim. Forces arrayedagainst him preemptively staged a dynastic coup of sorts to annointRajiv Gandhi, and the new political dispensation lost no time inbanishing Mr. Mukherjee into political oblivion. No tears were shedfor him in a party beset with sycophancy. A man was given a bad nameand hung out to dry.

Eleven long years later, Narasimha Rao recalled him into the unioncabinet. Galling it must have been for Mr. Mukherjee to serve under aonce-junior colleague. After the Congress returned to power in 2004,his claims for the top job were again quashed, with the crown going toa relative political novice, Manmohan Singh. Cross the Gandhis onceand you will never win them back. Just ask Sharad Pawar or AmitabhBachchan.

First offered the home ministry, he was humiliatingly shunted into thelesser one of defense. For only a die-hard family loyalist likeShivraj Patil could be entrusted with minding affairs at home. Quietlystomaching the insults, Mr. Mukherjee got to work. In a governmentteetering ever on the edge, he emerged as the principal, quitepossibly only, troubleshooter. Communists causing migraines. Pop theMukherjee pill. Nuclear deal in jeopardy. Pranabda to the fore.Telengana a nightmare. Save our souls, Bhadralok. Whenever thepolitical inexperience of Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi showsthrough, handyman Mukherjee is beckoned to bail out his troubledmasters. In 2009, leader of the opposition, L.K. Advani, hailed him inParliament, stating that but for him the UPA government would not havesurvived. What an accolade from a political adversary, especially onenot given to handing them out easily! Mr. Mukherjee simply folded hishands in gratitude.

So how has his own party appreciated him? When Manmohan Singh becameindisposed in 2008, precedence once more dictated that Mr. Mukherjee,as his second-in-command, be named caretaker PM. Instead the premier'sduties were scattered over several people to blur the line ofsuccession and keep all contenders on edge, a ruse Machiavelli wouldhave been proud of. Yet again the loyal Bengali trouper did notdissent, even though his fidelity had continued to be called intoquestion for close to three decades. And, after the Congress wonreelection in 2009, he politely excused himself from being consideredfor premiership by citing his inability to speak Hindi fluently. Howon Earth then did Deve Gowda make it with virtually no skills in thelanguage?

In case Manmohan Singh were to become incapacitated during his secondterm, two scenarios emerge. One is that Rahul Gandhi becomes PM butthat is unlikely given his inexperience and reluctance. Moreplausibly, a Gandhi family retainer will be pitch-forked into the seatto keep it warm for the heir apparent. P. Chidambaram, loyal to afault and bereft of a threatening mass base, is rapidly emerging asthe front-runner. Fated to be denied once again is Pranab Mukherjee,whose advanced age of 74 would probably be used against him, withlittle regard for what wonders the man could wrought even in a shorttenure at the top. For heaven's sake, did Benedict not trumpsenescence to become Pope at 78? And, it will be many an aeon beforethe Sun rises from the East.

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