[Letter to K M Munshi]

Summary

This confidential letter, dated 20 March 1963, reports on the condition of the Swatantra Party in Bihar and asks K. M. Munshi for advice. Janki Nandan Singh describes opposition-party conferences at Laheriasarai and Saharsa, attended by large crowds and addressed by figures including C. Rajagopalachari and Ram Manohar Lohia. He contrasts these mobilising efforts with what he sees as organisational paralysis in the Bihar legislature and party, noting that the Leader of the Opposition had attended the Assembly only three or four times in the preceding year.

Singh attributes the party’s difficulties to Rajbahadur’s alleged lack of organisational leadership, legal and financial disputes over party premises, and the absence of coordination among party workers and legislators. He worries that Rajbahadur may be keeping the party alive only nominally until the general elections, and asks whether the party should be rebuilt or replaced by another political platform. The letter also requests Munshi’s intervention in a dispute over a party vehicle and its unpaid tax, with a copy sent to M. R. Masani for information and guidance.

Key points

• Singh reports on opposition-party conferences held in Bihar in February and March 1963.
• The District Himalayan Bachao Conference at Laheriasarai was attended by more than one lakh people, according to the letter.
• The Bihar Swatantra Party is described as organisationally weak and poorly coordinated.
• Rajbahadur is criticised for failing to build the party on democratic lines and for limited attendance in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
• Legal proceedings and a rent dispute concerning party offices are presented as further signs of organisational crisis.
• Singh asks whether the party should be revived before the next elections or replaced by another political platform.
• The letter separately seeks Munshi’s help in recovering a party pick-up van so that outstanding tax can be deposited with the treasury.