It is reasonably clear that Mr. Charan Singh continues to be more concerned with his face than the future of the Janata party. Else at his meeting with the Prime Minister last Monday he would not have insisted on getting back the home portfolio and the number two position in the cabinet. It is possible, indeed certain, that he does not see any contradiction between the two. So great may in fact be his self-regard that he may well believe that the two are coterminous. But there is in reality a conflict between them. Since Mr. Desai is the prime minister, any derogation in his status cannot but affect adversely the image of the Janata and consequently reduced its influence to whatever extent. And there can be no doubt that Mr. Desai’s status will suffer in some measure if he yields to Mr. Charan Singh’s demands and pressures from his other colleagues to the same end.
Or Mr. Charan Singh perhaps takes the view that he has more political clout in north India, the Janata’s power base, than either Mr. Desai or Mr. Jagjivan Ram and that it entitles him to a certain place in a cabinet. This may well be so. But there can be little doubt that of all the Janata leaders Mr. Desai is best able to hold the party together and that an alternative to him is not in sight. As such it cannot and does not make much sense for anyone to weaken his position. It can reasonably be argued, as Mr. Madhu Limaye has been arguing quite forcefully, that in view of the federal character of the party, Mr. Desai has an obligation to carry leaders of its constituents with him. But while the Prime Minister’s style of dealing with colleagues may leave something to be desired, in Mr. Charan Singh’s case at least it cannot be said that the former imposed the fight on the latter.
At the time of writing it is not at all clear whether or not Mr. George Fernandes has resigned and if he has, whether or not he intends to press it. It is also not known whether or not some other ministers will follow suit if Mr. Fernandes decides to quit. But Mr. Fernandes has made no secret of his disenchantment with the leadership on two counts – infighting and the government’s performance. And so have now some other ministers. Most of them have not been particularly enamoured of Mr. Charan Singh. But they are now keen that he is re-inducted into the government, on his terms, if necessary. The party chief, Mr. Chandra Shekhar, shares this view. Apparently like them, he, too, has opted for collegiate leadership in which the office of the Prime Minister is inevitably downgraded to at best that of a chairman of a public limited concern. Needless to say, this cannot augur well either for the party or the government of the country. Mr. Desai is, of course, not the kind ofman who will gladly acquiesce in such an arrangement. But he is in a difficult position and he may not be able to ride out the gathering storm. This will be a pity. For all his idiosyncrasies and wrong priorities, he appears to be the best bet for the country in the Janata, at least for the present. And what if Mr. Jagjivan Ram decides to quit in protest against the increasing pressure on Mr. Desai on Mr. Charan Singh’s behalf?