The address nobody wants, 9 Janpath. (Right, from top) Sonia Gandhi, Lok Janshakti Party chief and Rajya Sabha member Ram Vilas Paswan and Speaker Meira Kumar, who live in the neighbourhood

New Delhi, Aug. 10: If 10 is the centre of power in Indian politics, 9 is pariah. At least, when it comes before a seven-letter word: Janpath.

9 Janpath, which stands opposite 10 Janpath, UPA chief Sonia Gandhi’s residence, should have been basking in reflected glory. Exactly the opposite has happened: no central minister has occupied the house for the past nine years.

Reason: the house has been labelled “unlucky”. It is believed that whoever lives there ends up in political wilderness.

The last minister who lived in the house was the BJP’s Shanta Kumar in 2003. Even his party, sources said, thinks him a spent force now.

Today, the decrepit structure doubles as a storehouse for broken security gear and a makeshift office for Central Public Works Department (CPWD) employees who maintain 10 Janpath. The house, its white walls a faint memory, also serves as a camp for Rajasthan police personnel posted at No. 10.

It wasn’t like this.

There was a time when No. 9 was the home of one-time Congress stalwart V.C. Shukla.

Elected MP for the first time in 1957, Shukla had been welcomed by Jawaharlal Nehru for being India’s youngest parliamentarian. In 1966, Indira Gandhi chose to make the leader from Madhya Pradesh a minister in her cabinet.

Shukla, now close to 83, has since held important portfolios, including home, defence, finance, external affairs and parliamentary affairs, although he was known most for his stint as information and broadcasting minister during the Emergency.

Shukla had banned Kishore Kumar’s songs from All India Radio because the singer was opposed to the Emergency.

But after his stay at 9 Janpath, Shukla’s political graph appeared to plummet. In 2000, when Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh, Sonia, instead of choosing Shukla as chief minister, decided to install Ajit Jogi.

When Lal Bahadur Shastri was Prime Minister, Kamlapati Tripathi, who was the railway minister, lived at 9 Janpath. Old-timers recall that Tripathi used to walk down to meet Shastri.

By the time Rajiv Gandhi shifted with his family after Indira Gandhi’s death in 1984, the veteran from Uttar Pradesh had fallen out of favour.

Tripathi died in 1990.

Kumar, the last minister to stay at 9 Janpath, became the first non-Congress chief minister of Himachal Pradesh in 1977. During the NDA rule, he was Union minister for rural development and food.

Kumar resigned as a Union minister in 2003 and was sent to Himachal, where Assembly elections were held that year. But he couldn’t convince the BJP to project him as candidate for chief minister.

Since then, the “unlucky” tag has stuck to 9 Janpath.

Some CPWD officials, however, offered a different reason. “No. 9 has been lying vacant since the Congress government came to power. It is believed that Sonia Gandhi has been warned that anyone living in this house will bring bad luck on her family,” said a senior official.

Another official cited security reasons. “Sonia Gandhi is a vulnerable target and the police do not want to take chances by having another VIP living opposite her.”

The public works department has now started construction on a neighbouring plot.

“The plot has been lying vacant for several decades. Since we are facing a huge crunch in ministerial accommodation, we have decided to construct on the plot. A ministerial bungalow is being constructed and it will be ready in four months,” CPWD director-general Sushil Mittal said.

Never mind the wall this plot shares with 9 Janpath.

The address — 7 Motilal Nehru Marg — is, after all, different.