[Letter to C C Desai]

Summary

In this letter dated 22 November 1967, N. Dandekar rejects C. C. Desai’s call for the Swatantra Party to pursue the “seizure of power” in Gujarat at any cost. Referring to the party’s recent attempts to form governments in Rajasthan and Gujarat, Dandekar says the Central Parliamentary Board and National Executive concluded that such opportunistic manoeuvring had damaged the party’s public reputation more than it had produced political gains. Recent coalition developments in Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab, he adds, demonstrate the instability of governments built on shifting defections.

Dandekar contrasts the “fish market” politics of Haryana with what he presents as a more dignified model in Orissa: a coalition led by the Swatantra Party from a position of majority, in alliance with Congress dissidents who left before the general election. He firmly advises against copying the Haryana and Punjab models, arguing that public contempt for legislative opportunism makes them examples for Gujarat to avoid rather than emulate.

Key points

• Dandekar opposes the proposed seizure of political power in Gujarat at any cost.
• The Swatantra Party’s efforts in Rajasthan and Gujarat are described as politically futile and reputationally damaging.
• Recent coalition governments in Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab are cited as evidence of instability caused by opportunistic defections.
• Haryana is characterised as the worst example of coalition politics, described as a “fish market.”
• Orissa is presented as a more legitimate coalition model because the Swatantra Party leads from a position of majority.
• Dandekar argues that public contempt for legislative manoeuvring should deter Gujarat from imitating Haryana or Punjab.