Babo Sa erred in staying too long in den
His right hand resting on the desk, as Bhairon Singh Shekhawat would sit as the leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly, the coordination of his finger movement with his party MLAs sitting behind him would determine the course of proceedings. The index finger up?Pushpa Jain would stand up and speak. The index and middle fingers together implied that Ghanshyam Tewari had to join her. The ring finger also up, it was time for Nathu Singh Gujar to lend his voice. This ruckus set in motion, Shekhawat would watch on, chewing tobacco. His wrist on the desk, Shekhawat would suddenly raise his hand. That would be a signal to the entire flock to stand up and create an uproar. The hand down, all party legislators would sit down. And then, the master puppeteer would stand up and hold forth?the entire House listening in silence.
?I controlled the House all through, whether as the chief minister or as the leader of Opposition,? he told this correspondent once. It was no loud talk for the 10-time MLA, who also had one stint in the Rajya Sabha. He won elections from everywhere in Rajasthan – Chhabra in east to Kishenpole at the centre, Bali in the south and Danta Ramgarh in the north.
Born into a poor farming family of Sikar district, Shekhawat came up the hard way. He and his younger brother were once shackled by the local Thakur because they could not pay a fine of four ?annas? after a camel of a guest of theirs strayed on to his fields. He walked 18 km daily to his school.
The excesses of feudalism, poverty and widowhood of his mother explained his simplicity, opposition to both the zamindari system and sati and the introduction of the Antyodaya system, targeted at the poorest of the poor. ?I was just 18 when my father died,? he often recalled. ?Imagine if my mother too had immolated herself on my father?s pyre.?
Shekhawat?s greatest asset was his accessibility, no matter which post he occupied. Even while he was Vice-President, hordes of people from Rajasthan would land up to meet him without an appointment. At the same time, he would rarely do anybody any personal favours.
A CM thrice, he was never charged with corruption by his opponents. In fact, somewhat in the mould of AB Vajpayee, he could reach out to all sections, including Muslims. But, like any skilled player, he kept people guessing about what he really stood for. So while he maintained a good deal of independence from the RSS, he would neither confront nor criticise the Sangh.
At the same time, he systematically went about checkmating all those who had the potential to replace him in the state BJP. Among the tools he was known to deploy most often was his ?files?. His detractors dreaded the ?collection?, perfectly catalogued, containing not just reference material on issues, but also details which could one day prove handy against a rival. ?Thakur purani clipping nikaal lega,? they would say.
It is an enigma to most people why the man who had such an illustrious career failed towards the end.
The simple reason is Shekhawat stayed on in Rajasthan much too long. Highly personalised politics was okay in the state, but in Delhi, it came a cropper. He thought the caste network of Rajputs would get him the additional votes he needed to win the Presidency, but the gamble failed.
He started sinking when he got out of the game, the agony compounded by his alienation from the party back home in Rajasthan. In the end, the man who was used to hearing cries of ?Rajasthan ka ek hi singh, Bhairon Singh, Bhairon Singh?, had to settle for just one Assembly ticket this time, for son-in-law Narpat Singh Rajvi.
Known as ?Rajasthan ka Singh?, Shekhawat was the undisputed mass leader of his times
Apurva
Jaipur, Former Vice-President and senior BJP leader Bhairon Singh Shekhawat died after suffering cardiac arrest in a Jaipur hospital on Saturday morning. He was 87.
Shekhawat, admitted to the Sawai Man Singh Hospital two days ago with complaints of breathing problems, died at 11.10 am. He is survived by his wife, Suraj Kanwar, daughter Ratan Kanwar and her husband and BJP MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, after calling an emergency Cabinet meeting to mourn his death, declared three days of state mourning during which time the Indian flag will remain at half mast. Shekhawat?s funeral was held on Sunday in Chandpol in Jaipur with full state honours.
As news of the three-time Rajasthan chief minister?s death spread, political leaders from all parties began arriving at Shekhawat?s house in Civil Lines to pay their last respects, including state and national leaders.
From a sub inspector in the Rajasthan police to the country?s second highest office of Vice-President, Shekhawat not only shaped the BJP with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, but the course of politics in Rajasthan. He lost the 2007 presidential race to Congress rival Pratibha Patil.
He became the first non-Congress CM in 1977 riding high on the Janata Party wave. However, following a split in the ranks and then a shift to the then new BJP, Shekhawat had to wait 13 years before reigning supreme in the 1990 and 1993 Assembly elections.
Shekhawat was also a three-time leader of the Opposition in Rajasthan. After losing to Gehlot in the 1998 polls, he was instrumental is bringing then MP Vasundhara Raje into state politics, which culminated in Raje becoming the CM after trouncing the Congress in the 2003 state and then the 2004 parliamentary elections.
On Saturday, Raje said, ?I was deeply aggrieved with the news of Shekhawatji?s death and believed him to be my mentor. It was with his blessings that I moved from national politics to state politics. The state and country has lost a visionary and a leader today.?
Born on October 23, 1923 in Kachariawas village in Rajasthan?s Sikar district and a ten-time MLA from Rajasthan, Shekhawat has been a member of every Rajasthan Assembly from its inception in 1952 till 2002, except for a period between 1972 and 1977 but was then elected to the Rajya Sabha. He was known by many names including Bhairon Baba and Babo Sa.
From a modest background, Shekhawat joined the police force to support his family till he joined politics in 1950 and won a seat in Rajasthan?s first Assembly elections in 1952. A ferocious voice against sati and several other feudal practises, including the jagir system, which his own Rajput community vehemently opposed but to little avail, Shekhawat was always seen as progressive and unlike many other ?hardliners? in the BJP.
In Rajasthan, few including his strongest rivals, can challenge his talent as an administrator. Senior leaders still marvel at his networking skills, which extended right down to the village level across the state.