Old war-horse on a winning streak

Till the emergence of Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the octogenarian governor of Kera...

Till the emergence of Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the octogenarian governor of Kerala was the sole minorities poster boy for the BJP. Though the two younger leaders have their own qualities, neither can match Bakht in stature.

Originally a Congress man, Bakht hit the headlines first with his marriage to a Hindu, Raj. He was a prominent local leader of Delhi, when he left the Congress to join the Congress(O) in 1969. He rose to become its general secretary and a member of the working committee. He defied the emergency and was jailed for 18 months. He was named a general secretary of the Janata Party too in 1977. The ensuing Lok Sabha elections saw him enter the Lok Sabha from Chandni Chowk; Morarji Desai inducted him as the Works and Housing Minister in his Cabinet.

A year later, the Janata Party split over the dual-membership issue. While all his former Congress(O) colleagues chose to stay back in the party, he took everybody by surprise by walking into the BJP, a reincarnation of the Jana Sangh, in 1980. At a time when members of the erstwhile Congress(O), Socialist Party and the Congress for Democracy were trying to make a statement in secularism by forcing former Jana Sangh members to choose between the RSS and the Janata Party, Bakht, being a Muslim, caused many red faces with his move.

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The BJP, after exhibiting him to the hilt, rewarded him well. He went on to become first its general secretary for two years and then, a vice-president for 11 years. Alongside, the BJP brought him into Rajya Sabha twice, in 1990 and 1996. While in the Upper House, he was leader of the opposition from 1992 to 1998 and Leader of the House from from 1998 to 1999. When the BJP came to power at the Centre in 1998, Bakht became the Industries Minister, but was dropped a year later.

Though the party found no work for him at that point, Bakht was awarded a Padma Vibhushan in 2000. Finally came the office of the governor.

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