Bizarre elevations

What are the similarities between November 2008 and August 2012? In the former, a full-blown terrorist outrage in Mumbai blew away the then Home Minister Shivraj Patil, who was found changing his fifth dress of the day even as the country was under attack.

In the event, Patil's uselessness as head of the national security apparatus was publicly acknowledged by the ruling Congress party and as a just reward he was kicked upstairs as Punjab governor.

In the latter case, India's worst-ever power outage in the first week of August which left roughly 700 million people without electricity for close to 48 hours, invited global outrage and gasps of disbelief from those backing India as the world's second-largest growing economy. It also produced a strikingly similar result – political elevation.

The effects of this power failure were  devastating and revealing at the time: coal miners were trapped, there were gargantuan traffic snarl-ups as street lights went on the blink, hospitals in the midst of life-saving operations were without electricity and essential services were hit as never before.

But Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who in most normal situations would have a lot to answer, was upgraded as Union Home Minister replacing P Chidambaram, in less than 24 hours after the northern, eastern and northeastern national power grids collapsed. Asked to describe his eight-year tenure as Union power minister, the new home minister had shot back, "Excellent". For good measure, he added: "Tell me how many villages had been electrified before 2005? We have electrified 1.86 lakh villages since then." A far cry from any serious introspection that the situation demanded.

When queried about the outage and its inexplicable coincidence with his promotion to South Block, Shinde was defensive. "These kind of failures have taken place in the US and Brazil, so it is not unknown," he said.

That, most observers say, is Shinde's USP. Unlike Patil, who became notorious for being brilliantly attired at the expense of the country, Shinde does not feel the need for changing clothes. But both come from Maharashtra, Patil a blue-blood Maratha and Shinde a Dalit, which the Congress party so dearly needs against the onslaught of Mayawati and the likes.

In his symbolic white safari, Shinde's smile rarely slips. Not even if you ask him whether he considered effecting changes during his long tenure at central Delhi's Shram Shakti Bhavan of technical and investment issues that have ensnared the country's power sector.

Did he do something about the wider crisis in the power sector; the narrow lines that cause outages, shoddy infrastructure, a medieval transmission system which has remained under-invested for years and a vulnerable power supply chain?  "Wait and see the results," he says.

While not everything can be laid at the door of Shinde for the problems he inherited, insiders say precious little has been done during his tenure to retrieve the situation.

The answer lies, probably, in the fact that Shinde is well connected in Congress and is close to 10 Janpath, the residence of party president Sonia Gandhi. As someone who joined active politics in 1971, his is a chequered career, beginning from the rank and file, terms as MLA, former chief minister of Maharashtra, a stint as Sonia's poll manger in Amethi for the 1999 elections, state governorships, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the Union Cabinet. As Congress pedigrees go, it is impeccable.

The opposition is outraged. "It exposes Congress's talent crunch. On the day the power grid failure took place, Shinde was given an instant reward by the prime minister. Such reward for inefficiency is unparalleled," says BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad. He remembers to add the Patil precedent.

Lacking the political stature of some of his predecessors, Shinde is an unlikely Home Minister. In theory, all cabinet ministers are of the same rank but in the political scheme of things, the home minister has a predominant position, which gives Shinde an automatic edge over his mentor Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

According to experts, there could well be a kernel of truth in the assertion that India's oldest political party lacks mass- based second-rung leaders. Says analyst Sushil Sharma, "Through the 1980s and 90s, Congress paid no attention to grooming a second line. The likes of Ambika Soni, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kamal Nath, who now hold key positions, were  Sanjay Gandhi's protegees. The party has no astute political managers like Arjun Singh, K Karunakaran, Rajesh Pilot and Madhavrao Scindia who have passed away.''

So while veterans are being shown the door, no new leaders have emerged on the firmament.  To be sure, suave cabinet members such as Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Jairam Ramesh are efficient administrators, but they lack political savvy. Nowhere was this more in evidence than the 2011 handling of the Anna Hazare agitation when top lawyers of the government were busy winning brownie arguments rather than managing the political crisis.

As for GenNext Congress leaders such as Jitin Prasada, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and RPN Singh, they are yet to get roles commensurate with their talent. For the record, though, the Congress puts up a brave face. "I do not think Shinde was guilty of the outage. One should not talk without substantiating a statement made irresponsibly," Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury told TSI. Defending Shinde, Chowdhury said he has had varied experiences as chief minister and governor besides being a central minister. Contends Prakash Javadekar, BJP spokesman, "UPA has limited cards to shuffle from. The Ace, King and Queen are not part of the pack and are not in contention," he says, without any further elaboration.

For Shinde, it was a case of baptism by fire. Less than 24 hours of taking over, he was addressing media queries regarding four low-intensity blasts that rocked Pune on August 1.

Says Janata Dal (U) leader Sharad Yadav, "During his chief ministership of Maharashtra,  between 2003 and 2004 for 21 months, Mumbai witnessed five explosions carried out by terrorists within a span of seven months. That is hardly the best candidate for the home minister's job."

The fears in the ruling Congress are, therefore, genuine: Could Shinde do a Shivraj Patil on them?

“The two are not related”

Rashid Alvi, AICC spokesman, defends Shinde's elevation in an interview with Pramod Kumar

It is a bit strange that Shinde has been elevated as Home Minister on a day when he presided over one of the worst power disasters in India.

Power failure is related to grid failure and the UP government's overdrawal above their allotted quota. It has nothing to do with Shinde's performance as power minister. He has been made the home minister on the basis of his seniority and experience.

Are you saying that power failure and the violence in Assam are merely coincidental?

Absolutely. To suggest that the outage was planned keeping Shinde's movement to home, would be stretching the imagination too far. Of course, it is the job of the opposition parties to criticise and the government's to state its position.

The same logic applies to the Congress.

Not true. When the Congress is in the opposition, its criticism is issue-based and logical. It does not make unsubstantiated allegations.

How do you see Sharad Pawar's threat to quit the government?

It is all part of running a coalition government. The issues raised by Pawar are being examined by a coordination committee. This has led to better understanding with our allies who appreciate the Congress's efforts to go the extra mile to take as many as possible on board.