All three are outsiders and women. And their task is cut out with the Congress and the BJP entrusting them with the responsibility of reviving their respective parties in Jharkhand. Meet Begum Noor Bano of Congress, Sumitra Mahajan of BJP and Congress member of the Rajya Sabha, Mabel Rebello.
All three ladies have certain traits in common. They belong to well-to-do families, have been in politics for a decade or more, are well-travelled and with the exception of the Begum, who has apparently studied up to the Senior Cambridge level, are better educated than most of the party leaders in the state. They naturally enjoy the confidence of their party’s central leadership and are even said to be close to the leaders who matter, Sonia Gandhi, Atal Behari Vajpayee or Rajnath Singh.
They are suave, sophisticated and articulate; too sophisticated for Jharkhand, complain some party workers who are put off by the “elitist ladies”. They feel uncomfortable in the presence of the ladies, they confess, and find it hard to communicate with them.
While conceding the problem, a senior Congress leader quipped that in neither Congress nor the BJP do workers’ opinion matter. While the RSS takes the decisions in one party, the high-command takes them in another. So, it’s not really a problem, they feel.
The women have nevertheless created a favourable impression. They are, claim party workers, not as susceptible to flattery as their predecessors. They are more businesslike and are keen to learn about the state, public issues and about the leaders. Unlike their predecessors, they are also not prone to accept hospitality and gifts from leaders with dubious credentials.
Above all, they seem to be serious about their task, lending their ears to party workers and visiting more districts than their predecessors cared to. Being ladies, leaders find it more difficult to take liberties and the rowdy or the rebellious party workers are a tad more restrained than they are with men.
So, has it been a master stroke of sorts? It’s early days and one cannot be sure how the ladies will be able to balance the conflicting interests and ambition of local satraps, tribes and communities. Or, whether they have the ability to devise political strategies to take rivals by surprise; or how they plan to build up their respective teams. It is of course an up-hill task with both Congress and the BJP a sharply divided house in Jharkhand. It will not be easy for them to unite the disparate elements and contain the sky-high ambition and bloated ego of the state leaders. But both Congress and BJP circles agree that if anybody can do it, their respective ladies have the best chance.
The ladies, however, have maintained a low-profile. They have not clarified their stand or the party’s stand on important public issues like panchayat polls, displacement and rehabilitation, Maoist violence or even corruption. They are yet to spearhead a campaign or a sustained agitation on public issues. They do not seem to have influenced public policies or government decisions. But, to be fair to them, they have been too busy grappling with organisational issues to devote much time to the big canvas.
The women in charge
Begum Noor Bano belongs to the royal family of Rampur (UP) and has represented the area in Parliament three times. During the last Lok Sabha elections, she was defeated by actor-turned politician Jaya Prada, who had contested on the Samajwadi Party ticket. Bano’s strength lies in her proximity to 10, Janpath. In a party where all important decisions are taken by the Madam (Sonia Gandhi), Bano’s presence, claim party insiders, ensures that issues relating to Jharkhand reach Sonia Gandhi directly.
“She appears to have settled down in her job. Not only did she get names of district presidents cleared, which were pending with the party high command, but she has also managed to get the MPs of Jharkhand and state president Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu on one platform, a singular achievement,” claimed a party insider. Recently she also visited places like Bokaro, Palamau, Giridih, Koderma, Hazaribagh, Chatra and Latehar to understand local issues.
BJP in-charge of Jharkhand affairs Sumitra Mahajan is credited with preventing the situation from going out of control after Babulal Marandi resigned.
When Marandi left the party, the state BJP organisation appeared in complete disarray. But Mahajan’s apparent sincerity, good humour and earnest approach helped save the day. Party insiders claim she is straight-forward and has exceptional organisational skills. She has filled the gap between the government and organisation to a great extent, they point out. It was at her initiative that the party constituted a five men committee so that important decisions could be taken collectively. She, however, has the onerous task of ensuring that the NDA government does not fall, that all sections of the NDA legislators remain happy while BJP legislators, denied ministerial berths, get their due!
Mabel Rebello, a member of the Rajya Sabha from MP earlier, replaced Supreme Court advocate R.K. Anand as a member of the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand. Congress sources claim Rebello has been given the crucial task of consolidating tribal Christian votes in the state.
“After becoming the RS member she regularly comes to Jharkhand twice a month. Her sustained efforts are said to have persuaded rural development minister Anosh Ekka, a tribal Christian, to have tilted towards the Congress (and UPA), causing a turmoil in state politics,” said a source.
So, who among the three, will last the race and have the last laugh? One has to wait till possibly next year before getting an answer to that one.
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Sumitra Mahajan
Born: April 12, 1943, in Ratnagiri,
Maharashtra.
Can argue way through: Anything. That’s hardly surprising, considering she’s a lawyer by profession. One wonders if husband Jayant, and her two sons, ever manage to argue their way through!
The great juggler: That’s Sumitra. She can handle a Marathi poetry lecture with as much ease as a political speech! Start her on a discussion on historical personalities or the Ramayana, and she leaves one stumped. She’s even staged a play on Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar!
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Born: November 11, 1939, in Bhiwani, Haryana.
Sporting mom: That’s what she is, and her three children, two daughters and a son, must be delighted! A keen swimmer and tennis player, she sure is ideal mom for them. A welcome break, too, from the stereotype image one has of politicians.
In tune with: Not just what’s happening on the political scene, but also in the world of music, art, literature and environment issues. Looks forward to doing research on historical and cultural Persian and Arabic books.
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Born: March 26, 1950.
On the go: Is what perhaps best describes this lady, who chose to remain single, but gathered around her numerous supporters as she made her social and political journey.
Ground reality: Even as she flew from one country to another, USA, the UK, Canada, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, being only a few of them, Rebello remained rooted to the social reality that is India. Armed with a degree in social work, she has been involved in various welfare schemes.
