Uma: Given away

Bhopal, May 5: Uma Bharti in the Congress?

Sounds bizarre but way back in 1984, the possibility of the firebrand Hindutva orator joining the Congress was almost real.

According to AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh who was then Madhya Pradesh Congress chief, Uma had tentatively agreed and even promised to get back, but changed her mind after meeting Vijayraje Scindia.

The late Rajmata, instead, drafted her into the BJP.

Digvijay, in a freewheeling conversation at Bhopal coffee house, said the move to bring Uma was the brainchild of his one-time mentor and then Madhya Pradesh chief minister Arjun Singh.

“Arjun Singhji was keen to project a powerful OBC leader. He asked me to look for one. As Umaji was known to me since her childhood, I broached the subject. She did not dismiss it but sought time saying she was visiting ‘Amma Saheb’ Rajmata Scindia. She, however, never got back.”

Asked if he missed Uma’s presence in the Congress, Digvijay almost choked. “No, never. I think we are better off without her.”

Digvijay’s disclosure that Arjun was keen to get Uma into the Congress fold solves one of the mysteries of Madhya Pradesh politics centring round the geniality between the two. So far, this was attributed to them having Ujjain-based “Mauni baba” as their spiritual guru.

Mauni baba has an inexplicable hold over these two politicians. Madhya Pradesh Congressmen and BJP cadre have often wondered what transpires when they meet, especially since the baba has supposedly taken a vow of silence.

In the Madhya Pradesh Congress, it has been a matter of constant discussion that Arjun seldom attacks Uma though he is a vocal and strident critic of the Sangh parivar.

Uma has all along reciprocated Arjun’s gesture. In recent times, when Arjun drew flak for trying to enforce quota for backward classes in premier education institutes, Uma hailed him.

On April 30, when Uma floated a political outfit, the Congress ignored the development. But Arjun went out of his way to issue a statement predicting Uma would be a force to reckon with in Madhya Pradesh.

Before joining politics, Uma was a popular figure in most parts of Madhya Pradesh. She was known for her discourses on Ramayana and Mahabharata. Both Digvijay and Madhavrao Scindia admitted having touched her feet when she visited their homes to narrate “katha”.

Uma’s maiden shot at the 1984 Lok Sabha polls ended in failure because of the sympathy wave for the Congress after Indira Gandhi’s assassination.

In 1989, she entered the Lok Sabha from Khajuraho and retained it in successive elections in 1991, 1996 and 1998 before switched over to Bhopal constituency from where she was elected in 1999.