Letter to Raja

Summary

This two-page typescript letter from M. R. Masani (Minoo Masani) to C. Rajagopalachari (“Rajaji”), dated 9th March 1963, canvasses the electoral tactics for a coming by-election in Belgaum. Masani reports that Ranga has just passed through Bombay en route to Belgaum, where Raju will accompany him, and reads the seat’s prospects off a report from his friend Colonel Malgonkar, who had earlier fought Joachim Alva as a Swatantra-backed Independent in Kanara.

The body of the letter maps the coalition arithmetic. Everything, Masani writes, turns on whether Katty of the Republican Party insists on standing; if he steps aside, Masani has already telegrammed suggesting that Rajaji approach N. Sivaraj, the Republican Party’s president. On the Jan Sangh side, Masani has discussed the matter with Dr. Raghuvira in Jaipur two days earlier and anticipates no difficulty. The Praja Socialist Party position, however, is more complicated: Ashok Mehta must choose between Farrukhabad — where Dr. Lohia is being put up — and Belgaum, and Ganga Saran Singh, President of the PSP’s Parliamentary Board, reports that local Congress people in Maharashtra and Mysore have offered Ashok an unopposed return, a tempting alternative that will be resolved by 15 March.

Masani closes by reaffirming the standing agreement between him and Rajaji: he will only contest if he has a straight fight against the Congress candidate and if the position is hopeful. If Ashok Mehta ends up standing in Belgaum, Masani will stand down in favour of the Republican candidate, who has a prima facie claim to the seat after a strong Opposition showing in the previous year.

Key points

• Two-page carbon typescript letter dated 9 March 1963, addressed to C. Rajagopalachari at 60 Bazlullah Road, T. Nagar, Madras 17.
• The subject is the choice of an Opposition candidate for a by-election in Belgaum and the coalition arithmetic required for a straight fight against Congress.
• Ranga is en route to Belgaum accompanied by Raju; Colonel Malgonkar’s earlier Independent run against Joachim Alva in Kanara is cited as the reference case for the constituency.
• Masani says the outcome depends on whether Katty of the Republican Party insists on standing; if not, Rajaji is asked to approach N. Sivaraj, the party’s president.
• Dr. Raghuvira, the Jan Sangh’s president, has been sounded out in Jaipur and Masani anticipates no difficulty from that quarter.
• The PSP situation is complicated: Ashok Mehta is weighing Farrukhabad (where Dr. Lohia is being put up) against Belgaum, with Ganga Saran Singh brokering an unopposed offer from local Congress workers in Maharashtra and Mysore.
• Masani reaffirms he will contest only on the two conditions he and Rajaji had jointly set — a straight fight and a hopeful position — and will otherwise back the Republican candidate.
• The letter closes with an enclosure notation (“Enc: 1”) and Masani’s signature.