Congress may pit Karan Singh
against Arun Nehru
From Shubhabrata Bhattacharya
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Aug 22 — Former Sadr-e-Riyasat (Governor) of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr Karan Singh, who recently returned to the Congress fold after a gap of 18 years, may be fielded by the party either against BJP’s Arun Nehru from Rae Bareli or asked to contest against Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee from Lucknow.

Although Dr Karan Singh is yet to give his consent indications are that he may be the Congress candidate from Rae Bareli, the seat once represented by Mrs Indira Gandhi.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s candidature from Amethi, where she will face BJP’s sitting MP, Mr Sanjay Singh, having been announced, the Congress leadership wants a credible face as its candidate in neighbouring Rae Bareli. The polling in Amethi and Rae Bareli are complimentary to each other. That was the reason for the late Sanjay Gandhi opting for Amethi in 1977.

Similarly the Congress is looking for a formidable candidate to oppose Mr Vajpayee, who won the seat in 1991, 1996 and 1998. In 1991 the Congress candidate finished second. In the past two elections the top three slots of the contest in Lucknow have gone to the BJP, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, respectively, in that order. Thus the Congress wants to field a candidate who can at least partially retrieve the party’s image by putting up a better show. It is not a winning ticket and thus Dr Karan Singh may be reluctant to go to Lucknow.

Rae Bareli was represented by late Feroze Gandhi in 1952 and 1957. (In 1952 the seat was called Pratapgarh West-cum- Rae Bareli East Lok Sabha seat, from 1957 it has been known as Rae Bareli.) Mrs Indira Gandhi was a Rajya Sabha member when she became Prime Minister in January 1966. She contested her first ever Lok Sabha poll from Rae Bareli in 1967. She won again in 1971.

Her victory in 1971 was challenged in the Allhababad High Court by the defeated Samyakta Socialist Party (SSP) candidate, Mr Raj Narain. The verdict of Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha in this case, delivered on June 12, 1975, set the ball rolling for the imposition of Emergency on June 26, 1975.

Mrs Indira Gandhi lost to Mr Raj Narain, contesting on the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) ticket in 1977. She won again in 1980, defeating Janata Party’s Mrs Vijayraje Scindia. Mr Raj Narain of (JP-Secular) finished third. Having also been elected from Medak in Andhra Pradesh, Mrs Indira Gandhi retained that seat. In the byelection, Congress put up her nephew, Mr Arun Nehru, who won the seat than and again in 1984.

Rae Bareli continued to be an important seat for the Nehru-Gandhi family even after Mr Arun Nehru’s departure from Congress in 1987. Mrs Indira Gandhi’s "Maami" (maternal aunt) Mrs Sheila Kaul held the seat for the party in 1989 and 1991.

The seat was won by BJP in 1996 and 1998. Mr Ashok Singh, who won the seat has now joined the Congress. Had Mr Arun Nehru not entered the fray, Mr Ashok Singh may have been easily renominated. However, now search is on for a credible and formidable face, hence the offer to Dr Karan Singh.

Caste factor also may play a role: By fielding Dr Karan Singh, a Rajput, from Rae Bareli and Mrs Ratna Kumari, (daughter of Late Raja Dinesh Singh of Kalakanker) from Pratapgarh — two constituencies bordering Amethi — the Congress strategists hope to boost Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s chances against the local Rajput Prince, Mr Sanjay Singh, of BJP.