Kesri coup was a moment whose time had come

Rashid Kidwai
Senior Political Commentator

Suddenly a lot is being said and written about Sitaram Kesri’s unceremonious exit as the Congress president some 20 years ago. PM Modi, addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh, said, ‘The country knows that Sitaram Kesri, a Dalit, was not allowed to complete his five-year term as Congress president. He was thrown out of office and on the footpath to make way for Sonia Gandhi as the new party chief.’

The case needs a revisit, not only for accuracy of facts, but also the context of inner goings-on in the grand old party then. Kesri was neither a Dalit nor a popular figure within the Congress when a rather unconstitutional coup was plotted on March 14, 1998. The conspiracy was not hatched at 10, Janpath but at the residence of Pranab Mukherjee. Jitendra Prasada, K Karunakaran, Sharad Pawar, Arjun Singh and almost all members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) were involved. 

 As party chief from September 1996 to March 1998, Kesri had severe limitations. Leaders from the South and Northeast had a problem communicating with him, and those from the North never accepted him as their leader due to caste considerations! He also made his dislike for North Indian Brahmins and Thakurs obvious. He was open about forging an alliance with the likes of Lalu Yadav, Kanshi Ram and Mulayam Yadav when the Congress still fancied itself as a pan-India party. His views unnerved a large section of upper-caste leaders from the Hindi heartland who were struggling to survive, losing successive Lok Sabha polls. His promise to ‘Mandalise’ the Congress made them sit up, as they were now about to lose their position within the organisation too.

Signs of trouble

Though everyone within the Congress and outside viewed the organisational polls in Calcutta in 1997 as farcical, Kesri took the compliment of being an elected AICC chief too seriously. His commoner reference was taken as a sign of defiance towards the Nehru-Gandhi family. A handful of former MPs began passing on information to Sonia’s aide Vincent George.

During the 1998 General Election, perhaps for the first time in the history of the Congress, the party president was kept away from campaigning. None of the states, including his own state Bihar, sought his services. The old man tried to visit Jalandhar, but the aircraft had to turn around as he developed a breathing problem.

The poll outcome came as a shock to the Congress. In the back-breaking campaign that saw Sonia address 130-odd meetings, the Congress’s final tally read 142. Besides handing over the family borough of Amethi to the BJP, her two most trusted lieutenants, Arjun Singh and ND Tiwari, also lost. But her managers quickly blamed Kesri, who had not stepped out of his house.

How the plot was hatched  

Restless CWC members began holding conclaves to work out plans on how to install Sonia. Pawar was getting feedback from the corporate world that as long as Kesri was head of the party, it would not support it. Pawar teamed up with Prasada and AK Antony, and later Pranab Mukherjee joined in. Every week, senior leaders would meet in small groups. Invariably, Pawar would favour a ‘surgical operation’, but Mukherjee and Antony sought more time. Sensing trouble, the Kesri camp launched a counter-offensive.

The CWC finally met on March 5, 1998, to assess the party’s poor performance. The meeting asked Sonia to play a more direct and meaningful role and requested her to help the party elect the new leader of the CPP, a post that Kesri occupied. On Pranab’s advice, the CPP constitution was amended to state that any leader was free to get elected even if he/she was not a member of either House.

On March 9, 1998, Kesri announced his resignation but changed his mind within minutes. He claimed that he had merely stated his intention to step down, though all major newspapers quoted him as saying that he had quit. Chacha’s coterie chided him for handing over power to Sonia on a platter. Kesri rephrased his comments claiming that he would place his resignation before the AICC general body.

 A day before the coup, on March 14, Prasada hosted a lunch at which all CWC members were present. Thirteen members had gathered at Pranab’s house to draft a strongly worded resolution asking Kesri to immediately convene a CWC meet to step down in Sonia’s favour. Pranab discovered a provision in the Congress constitution that supposedly empowered the CWC to take drastic action under special circumstances. Leaders later admitted that the provision did not specifically say it had powers to remove an elected president.

Unceremonious exit 

At the CWC meet, Kesri became hysterical when Pranab thanked him and moved a resolution asking Sonia to take over. Kesri abruptly adjourned the meeting and retired to his office. No amount of persuasion from Dr Manmohan Singh, Mukherjee, Antony and Patel changed his mind. Those in favour of change had anticipated it. Prasada took the chair signalling Pranab to move the resolution formally to invite her to take over. The lone Kesri loyalist, Tariq Anwar, followed his leader, refusing to be party to ‘the unconstitutional and unprecedented measures’ that were being adopted. He staged a walkout.

At about noon, the committee handed over the chair to her. Kesri’s nameplate was thrown into the bin and a sparkling black-and-white plaque bearing Sonia’s name was fixed. When the deposed party chief was leaving, some youth Congress workers tried to pull his dhoti. While senior leaders, including Sonia were not aware of it, it was ugly and painful. Kesri was a freedom fighter and a diehard Congressman. 

 Sonia came in the evening to chair the meet and take over as the party chief. She looked bright and confident, but she was not pleased about the circumstances in which she was taking over. As soon as the meeting was over, she called on Kesri, describing him as a ‘great leader’.