The people, Dr Singh

Aamid all the political and quasi-political brouhaha last week 8212; UP, Punjab, the first teaser shows of Kaun Banega Rashtrapati, art vs sensibility, etc 8212; Manmohan Singh8217;s re-election to the Rajya Sabha was barely noticed. But this time was no ordinary renewal of Singh8217;s Rajya Sabha tenure. His MPship finished bang in the middle of his prime ministerial stint. When he started in 2004 as a Rajya Sabha member, reasons could have been and were found for his concentrating on the job rather than facing a constituency. But May 2007 is not May 2004. True, H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral also remained Rajya Sabha MPs during their prime ministerial careers. But their terms were cut short. They can say they didn8217;t have the chance. The more relevant example is P.V. Narasimha Rao. After becoming the PM, Rao contested and won from Nandyal constituency in Andhra. So if only for reasons of political and parliamentary first principles, Singh should this time have changed the mode of his entry to the House.

Realpolitik also called for a different kind of a choice. The PM8217;s political authority has been frequently questioned by members of his government. A real election win, from a Lok Sabha constituency, would have burnished his political authority considerably. It would have helped him and the government. Surely, strategists at the PMO and the Congress could see that. So some follow-up questions are inevitable.

Is it that the Congress could not find a 8216;safe8217; seat for its prime minister? That8217;s a terrible comment on the party that rules India right now. Or is it that the party thought its PM doesn8217;t need the lustre that comes from a directly contested election win? That8217;s an even more terrible comment on the Congress. Or did Singh abandon the Lok Sabha route thanks to some party versus government tussle, where the assumption made by those asking the question is that for tactical reasons the party leadership is better served by a PM who doesn8217;t ask the people to elect him? And the most important question: What does Dr Singh think? Is he comfortable with the possibility that he may end up as India8217;s only full-term PM who was never a member of the Lok Sabha? Is that the legacy he seeks to leave?