Letter to Raja

Summary

A one-page typewritten letter from M. R. Masani to C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), dated 25 February 1963, taking stock of the Swatantra Party’s position on four impending Parliamentary by-elections. Masani works seat by seat: the Dohad (Reserved) constituency in Gujarat, vacated by the death of the party’s member Mr. Maria, is being handled through the Gujerat Party on the question of a scheduled-caste candidate; the Madhya Pradesh seat, he concedes bluntly, is beyond reach given the party’s “total non-existence” in that state.

On the three U.P. seats, Masani notes that Acharya Kripalani is contesting Amroha and the Jan Sangh has appropriated another, and he is sounding out U.P. friends about whether the third is worth contesting. The Belgaum seat, opened by Datar’s death, elicits the frankest organisational admission of the letter: “We have nothing by way of organisation in Belgaum district.” He is dispatching Jinaraja Hegde to Belgaum for a quiet reconnaissance and proposes meeting Rajaji at the Coimbatore District Convention on 3 March to continue the conversation.

The letter closes with logistics — Masani will arrive in Coimbatore by air at noon on 3 March and depart via Hyderabad for Delhi on the afternoon of the 4th, having promised N. G. Ranga that he will be available for Budget discussions with Ranga and his Parliamentary colleagues on the 5th. The document is an intra-leadership working note on candidate selection, coalition arithmetic, and the party’s uneven organisational footprint across states.

Key points

• One-page typewritten letter from M. R. Masani to C. Rajagopalachari, dated 25 February 1963, following up on Masani’s letter of the 23rd about the party’s statement and the position on Parliamentary by-elections.
• Reviews four by-election seats in turn: Dohad (Gujarat), a Madhya Pradesh seat, three U.P. seats, and Belgaum.
• Dohad is a scheduled-caste seat vacated by the death of the Swatantra member Mr. Maria; Masani is asking the Gujerat Party whether it will put up a candidate.
• Concedes that Swatantra has no organisational presence in Madhya Pradesh and should effectively abandon that seat.
• In U.P., notes that Acharya Kripalani is contesting Amroha and the Jan Sangh has taken another seat; he is consulting local friends on whether the third is worth contesting.
• The Belgaum seat, vacated by Datar’s death, is being explored through Jinaraja Hegde, but prospects “do not look too rosy” and the party lacks any organisation in the district.
• Plans to meet Rajaji at the Coimbatore District Convention on 3 March and then travel via Hyderabad to Delhi to join N. G. Ranga for Budget discussions on 5 March.