"In politics, an organised minority is a political majority." This famous quote by the American Civil Rights activist Jesse Jackson is quite close to the role being played out by the state's old hand — Shankersinh Vaghela. After an astonishing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections last month, the influential politician seems to be taking tips from the old handbook of politics to keep the populace engaged and remain in public memory.
Soon after the reality of his defeat in Panchmahal sunk in, Vaghela reportedly came out with an announcement that he would contest the state assembly by-elections, which he hastily denied within hours. Last Saturday, another audacious front was split open - a public meeting in Fagvel - a small town in Kheda district, Panchmahal constituency, from where he had launched the bloodless coup against BJP's Keshubhai Patel in 1996.
The meet was innocuous at the outset - inauguration of Bhathiji Maharaj's temple after renovation. But BJP and Congress leaders alike closely tracked the developments there. His public address was confined to diatribe against Modi's governance, but media reports quoted him being in touch with at least seven BJP MLAs — made out the event to be a precursor to a coup against Modi.
The hypothesis, not confirmed by Vaghela himself though, is being ardently denied by senior leaders in both BJP and Congress. "This is just noise, no plan exists. What happened in 1998 certainly makes us take notice of on-going events, but beyond that…" a senior leader in BJP said. "For one, he does not have Congress's internal support, even if he succeeds in weaning away BJP MLAs. Besides, one should remember that nearly 15 years have passed since the Khajuraho coup and he's aged as much," the leader said.
A source close to the top echelons in Gujarat Congress confirmed that bapu (Vaghela) was giving feelers to the high command that he wants an "important" role in the UPA government, if not a minister, then something else. He was camping in New Delhi when the Cabinet was being finalised. If not at the Centre, Vaghela wants a 'senior position' (read leader of Opposition or state unit president) in Gujarat Congress. "Both the incumbents on posts (Shaktisinh Gohil and Siddharth Patel, respectively) are settled well, so the response was lukewarm. The fact that his supporters, Vitthal Radadia and Pravin Rashtrapal, were also not included in the Union Cabinet did not help matters. He has made several enemies within Congress in the past decade," a Cong source said.
However, not underestimating the veteran politician, leaders in both the parties have their ears to the ground on this issue. Interestingly though, when asked about the interpretation of his own actions, Vaghela nonchalantly replies, "I am only following the high command's orders. My diktat is to serve the party now, if I get a post in the Centre then so be it, or I'll serve the party in the state. But I have certainly not retired yet."
