It was Chandra Shekharji who encouraged me to join politics after I decided to leave the IAS in 1984. I was deeply impressed by Jayaprakash Narayan and it was in a way natural for me to join the Janata Party, of which Chandra Shekharji was president then. He gave me all support and encouragement after I joined the party. In 1984, I contested as a Janata candidate in Hazaribagh, but fared very badly. Chandra Shekharji himself lost the Ballia seat. That was an occasion when I saw his indomitable spirit in full play. When everything appeared lost, he did not lose heart.
After the election debacle, he decided to go around the country, meeting up with Janata party workers and others. I accompanied him, taking notes of the conversations and speeches. At the end of it, I prepared a report for the national executive of the party in the summer of 1985. In 1986, he made me general secretary of the party and in 1988 nominated me to Rajya Sabha from Bihar.
Some misunderstandings developed between Chandra Sheskharji and V P Singh, even as the country’s politics was taking a major turn. But we managed to tackle it to everyone’s satisfaction and the Janata Dal was formed. The merger of the parties was smooth and Chandra Shekharji worked very hard, with his heart and soul, for the victory of the party in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections. But the events following the elections, leading to the election of V P Singh as Prime Minister, left a scar on him. He thought the party did not treat him properly. Chandra Shekharji never carried the bitterness of a political fight for long. He patched up with V P Singh and despite the clashes with Indira Gandhi still maintained a warmth with her.
I went to join the ministry of V P Singh, but returned from Rashtrapati Bhawan after learning that I was going to be just a junior minister. I went straight to Chandra Shekharji, who was watching the entire thing on TV. He told me I did the right thing. Some time later, V P Singh suggested that I go to Punjab as Governor, but Chandrashekhar did not approve of it. Later on, he formed the Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) and became Prime Minister with the support of the Congress. I became his Finance Minister. Throughout this period, I realised besides being a fantastic politician and a statesman, he was also a good human being.
He always cared for the need of other people. He had turned a vegetarian, but took special care to ensure that there was some thing non-vegetarian when I was around. He was a consensus builder. In the wake of a Sati in Rajasthan, the Janata Party ran into a crisis. Kalyan Singh Kalwi, a party leader from the state, said something in favour of Sati. Others in the party were furious and it looked like the party would split over the issue. But Chandra Shekharji was able to satisfy both groups and able to carry the day.
Irrespective of the party, anyone could approach him for help and he went out of his way to help people. If someone approached him for financial help, he would suddenly demand others present at his place to contribute whatever they can. I have seen him doing this for people who have been his bitter critics. That was the greatness of the man.
As Prime Minister for a short duration, his statesmanship was well in play. He was very close to finding long-lasting solutions for three of our most important problems—Kashmir, Ayodhya and Punjab. He went to Mali to attend the SAARC conference and cultivated such a personal rapport with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawas Sharif that it became useful in a moment of crisis. A true statesman, he understood the problems of the nation and knew the solutions. If Chandra Shekharji had got more time as the country’s Premier, we would have been on a different track altogether.
