Chandrababu Naidu in jail: why being in prison does not always spell setback for politicians in India

Tribune Web Desk

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, September 13

According to some political observers, it would have been better for the Congress had Rahul Gandhi served a jail sentence in the defamation case that caused his suspension from the Lok Sabha earlier this year.

Eventually, after the party's legal run in the district and the high court, the Supreme Court stayed his conviction in the “Modi surname defamation case”, saying no reasons had been given by the trial judge for imposing the maximum sentence of two-year imprisonment that led to his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP.

The Congress celebrated, calling it a “victory of truth” though some analysts believe it would have earned Gandhi and the party sympathy of the voters had he spent some time in jail, especially in the pre-election year. 

Also, the imprisonment of former Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu may help revive the TDP ahead of the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and earn him voters’ sympathy.       

Incidentally, the arrest of late PM Indira Gandhi was labelled as “first major political blunder” by the then PM Morarji Desai. 

Has Chandrababu Naidu sought bail 

Happening amid the blitzkrieg of G-20 Summit, the arrest of the Telugu Desam Party supremo failed to make the national buzz it would have under normal circumstances.

Naidu was arrested for his alleged role in a multi-crore Skill Development Corporation scam.

He is currently lodged at Rajamahendravaram central prison after the court in Vijayawada remanded him in judicial custody. 

According to reports, the local court rejected a house custody petition filed by the TDP chief.

His legal team moved two pleas in the high court—one seeking quashing of the case and another bail petition. 

However, some commentators have an additional take. They say the TDP’s legal team made every effort to persuade the local court judge to halt the remand, arguing that allegations were "quite basic and lacked any concrete evidence to justify immediate arrest".

“The fact that lawyers filed a quash petition in the high court signifies that Naidu is not seeking bail and is requesting that the case be dismissed,” they say.

Being in jail is not such a bad idea    

Even if the judgment does not go in Naidu’s favour, it may still work to his advantage. It is unusual for a politician to “confidently request the court to dismiss a case rather than seek bail”, they add.

While in jail, Naidu has a separate room with all facilities. He is also being provided home-cooked food, medicines, etc.

The TDP, meanwhile, is holding protests across Andhra Pradesh against "political vendetta" by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. 

Coming just before the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the issue has heated up Andhra politics. TDP leaders say a “political vendetta” has been unleashed by the state government.

According to party leader Nandamuri Balakrishna, Naidu was arrested on the basis of a "false case without any evidence".

 “The case was born out of political vengeance of chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. He has done nothing for the state in the past four years other than harassing political opponents with false cases. 

"The CM stayed in jail for 16 months and his intention is to send Chandrababu Naidu to jail for at least 16 days. He invented a false case out of nothing to fulfil his wishes,” the TDP leader was quoted as saying.

CM Jagan and many others have spent time in jail

According to some analysts, Naidu’s arrest has thrown the party in a tizzy and cast aspersions over the future of its leaders. But the contrary point of view is that Jagan Mohan was also arrested by the CBI in May 2012 in connection with a disproportionate assets case against him.

And he is not the only one.

Several political leaders have spent time in jail, including during the National Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi from 1975 to 1977 of which the erstwhile Janata Party was the biggest gainer.

Many former CMs have also been sentenced to prison for corruption. They include Lalu Prasad. J Jayalalithaa, Om Prakash Chautala. BS Yediyurappa and Shibu Soren. 

DMK’s A Raja and Kanimozhi and Punjab’s Navjot Sidhu have also spent time in jail. 

Bangaru Laxman, a former BJP chief, was sentenced to four years in jail in a bribery case.

Most of them managed to bounce back.

Observers say Desai and his home minister Chaudhary Charan Singh made a "major political error by arresting Indira Gandhi 

Had she been arrested when the public sentiment was against her, the situation may have panned differently. But when she was arrested, some time had passed and the decision was perceived as revengeful. Not only did she come back into the fight with a renewed vigour, the Congress also made good use of her imprisonment to woo voters.

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