V. P. Singh is fighting on two fronts; struggling to resolve the United Front-Congress impasse, while battling kidney failure through regular dialysis at the Capital's Apollo Hospital. "Do not regard this as a face-saving exercise. It is a life-saving one," Singh told a Congress MP who called on him. His doctors could well have said the same thing.
At Sunday noon, the Janata Dal leader learnt of the Congress pullout. Weak from bouts of vomiting and pain during dialysis the previous day, he had lunch and went to sleep. By evening, the 66-year-old former prime minister felt strong enough to battle for the government he had helped install (but refused to head). Although his voice barely rose above a whisper and he could not sit up easily, Singh held telephonic conversations with UF and Congress leaders, stressing two things. The UF must remain united. The Congress and UF must stand together to keep the BJP out.
The frail, shrunken, bandage-swathed figure ensconced in his hi-tech hospital bed is the fulcrum of negotiations—reminiscent of Jayaprakash Narayan's Janata Party days. UF, CPI(M) and Congress leaders flocked to the small chamber bristling with medical equipment, in hope of resolving the deadlock. His health had, in fact, deteriorated sharply, forcing him to cancel a scheduled trip to London. Drawing on reserves of strength which have amazed family and friends, he is fighting for the survival of the UF, commented an aide, Wasim Ahmed. Even the harried SPG personnel, stationed in the room adjoining Singh's, are amazed—and in one case, moved to tears—at the man's resilience.
Flowers (microbe-bearers) are not welcome in the antiseptic suite, but dialogue is. Occasionally, the self-styled recluse feels strong enough to drag himself to the sofa along one wall; most often, he is prone, talking on the phone or with visitors, ranging from former prime ministers Chandra Shekhar and P.V. Narasimha Rao, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal Chief Ministers Digivjay Singh and Jyoti Basu to MPs and media barons. Gowda paid three visits last week. Callers stream in at odd hours, regardless of hospital rules.
Fear of visitors carrying in infections does not register—Singh's doors are open to all. Greeting them with a namaste made awkward by bandages and a gentle smile, he asks them to sit in his line of sight—the huge bandage around his neck (where doctors made an incision for dialysis) does not permit him to turn his head.
Except for the few hours every alternate day that Singh undergoes dialysis, he is confabulating non-stop with political leaders. While his wife remonstrates gently and his son shakes his head helplessly, the peace parade continues. Some come merely to complain, like Kesri camp follower G. Venkataswamy who said the Congress stand had "not been understood".
Always the arbiter, he told Madhavrao Scindia—who asked how a solution was possible if the UF was not willing to discuss a coalition—"I am not opposed to it but our regional allies do not agree. In their states, the Congress is the principal opponent," he said. There was no question of the Janata Dal parting ways with the TDP, AGP, TMC or DMK; it would lose in the long run.
Singh is irritated with the media for reporting that the idea of installing TMC leader G.K. Moopanar as prime minister was his. "I never suggested it. The UF is squarely behind Gowda and the steering committee has said as much," he observed. How can a political entity change its leader under pressure, he asked.
He agreed with a Congressman's assessment that the Congress was in more trouble than the UF. He saw chances of revolt, rather than a split, in the Congress unless its president climbed down from his stand. In the event of a mid-term poll, he said, "between the two (UF and BJP), the Congress would be decimated...cannibalised".
Singh's 48-hourly dialysis sessions leave him weak but he soldiers on. "He had an operation on his arm to prepare him for dialysis in London. But there was a problem and another incision had to be made in his neck," said Ahmed. Singh's kidneys began to fail after a fast during the '93 Bombay riots. He had already suffered from leukaemia. While a kidney transplant appears inevitable, a donor is yet to be found. Singh's family and well-wishers have all undergone tests in the hope of finding a compatible kidney. One youth, Jamal Badgami, came all the way from Kashmir to offer his kidney.
Although there is a TV in Singh's room, he rarely watches the news. "There is no need," he says placidly. Not when the news is being made right there before him.
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