The penumbra of Indira Gandhi looms over India’s political horizon in her centennial year. No thanks to any activity or prank of her family-dominated outfit, which functions under the name and style of Indian National Congress. Narendra Modi and Akhilesh Yadav have invoked her, either consciously, or, perhaps unconsciously. Modi’s clarion call at the rally in Lucknow (observers rate it as the biggest ever show by any political party ever in the Uttar Pradesh capital), “woh kahte hain Modi hatao; Modi kahta hai bhrastachar aur kaala dhan hatao” was straight out of Congress’ 1971 slogan “They say Indira hatao; Indiraji says garibi hatao—it’s for you to choose” (crafted by a teacher of erstwhile Delhi College—now Zakir Hussain College—Ashok Chatterjee, who was later rewarded with a legislature seat).
Akhilesh Yadav’s bid to assert his supremacy over the Samajwadi Party old guard, led by his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is also styled on Indira Gandhi’s artifice during the 1969 and 1978 splits in Congress. She as Prime Minister challenged the “Syndicate”, which included the AICC president S. Nijalingappa. The majority of MPs, legislators and more importantly, workers, sided with her as she sidelined the organisation satraps and weaned the party to become Congress (Indira). In 1978 too she ousted the then AICC chief, K. Bramhananda Reddi and took the organisation with her, leaving senior leaders with the other faction.
Akhilesh Yadav’s manoeuvres in Lucknow, of displaying his support among the majority of Samajwadi MPs, MLAs and party organisation leaders is a straight copy from Indira Gandhi’s stratagem, which was perfected by Yashpal Kapoor and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna in 1969.
The looming split in Samajwadi Party will be yet another fissure in the Socialist movement, which has seen division after division since the 1950s. During the freedom struggle, a socialist caucus existed within the Congress movement and since 1934 it was known as the Congress Socialist Party (CSP). Communists were part of CSP, with E.M.S. Namboodiripad being the most prominent. After Independence, Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Narendra Dev formed the Socialist Party (it won only 12 Lok Sabha seats in 1952; CPI emerged the largest Opposition with 16). Later, uniting with Acharya J.B. Kripalani’s Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (nine seats), the socialists formed Praja Socialist Party (PSP). Along with Communists (S.A. Dange, Hiren Mukherjee, Bhupesh Gupta, Homi Daji, Indrajit Gupta) the PSP, with its stalwarts Ram Manohar Lohia, Minoo Masani, Asoka Mehta, N.G. Goray, Madhu Limaye became the vocal Opposition, Lok Sabha numbers notwithstanding. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave weight to the viewpoint of his erstwhile comrades.
The PSP split in 1964, and Lohiya with Madhu Limaye, George Fernandes and Raj Narain formed the Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), with S.M. Joshi at the helm. The SSP played a leading role in the Opposition. A faction of the PSP led by Asoka Mehta joined the Congress. Former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar was among those who crossed over. Mulayam Singh Yadav was initiated into politics in the SSP. The railway strike of 1974 was led by George Fernandes. Post Emergency, the SSP was part of the Janata Party. It was erstwhile SSP leader Raj Narain who triggered the debate on RSS’ “dual membership” and brought about the downfall of the Janata regime of Morarji Desai in 1979.
The PSP symbol, hut, was not taken by SSP, which chose the banyan tree as its symbol—this is now with Chandrashekhar’s party, the Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya), whose convener, Kamal Morarka, is said to be not averse to let the Akhilesh faction of SP use it in case the cycle symbol is frozen due to a split.
The only national party symbol, which has survived since 1952, is “ears of corn and sickle” of the CPI. All other symbols have withered due to splits. Congress’ double-bullock was replaced by cow and calf in 1969 and by hand in 1978. Though the party under Indira Gandhi was recognised by Election Commission in 1982 as real Congress, the party did not give up the hand, the symbol on which Indira Gandhi made her comeback from Chickmagalur in 1978.
Chief Election Commissioner S.L. Shakhdar’s order of 1982 noted that a split is an ongoing process—Brahmananda Reddi, who headed the opposite faction, had meanwhile joined Indira Congress and Devraj Urs, who was her principal lieutenant in 1978, had gone over to head the “Other Congress” when the symbol was decided. So much so that the counsel for the Other Congress, V.M. Syed Mohammed, had crossed over to Indira Congress when the order was delivered.
When CPI split in 1964, the emerging CPI(M) did not insist on usurping the symbol. In the years to follow, the breakaway faction emerged at the vanguard of the Left movement, with CPI becoming a tail-ender. The fight over symbol, thus, is not of much political significance. Interestingly, while accompanying Mulayam Singh Yadav to the Election Commission on the symbol issue, Amar Singh said “mayn Mulayam Singhji ke dil mein hoon—dal se kya matlab”. True, individuals, rather than ideology or party, dominate political discourse today. The Samajwadi Party today is a far cry from the Lohia-Raj Narain-Limaye-George Fernandes outfit.