An inflexible man, he was totally opposed to nationalisation but was open to less drastic measures. The party compromised on “social control” on banks by monitoring their lending policies for two years. Before long the power struggle between Desai and Indira, far from abating, escalated, largely because the Syndicate of party bosses that had initially sponsored her as prime ministerial candidate to keep Desai at bay, had suddenly joined him against her. The Young Turks seized the opportunity vigorously to demand immediate bank nationalisation. To their shock, Indira Gandhi closed ranks with Desai and insisted that social control must be given a fair trial for a “minimum of two years.”

Ironically, she was to go back on this in less than a year when she learnt that the combination of Desai and the Syndicate was determined to nominate N. Sanjeeva Reddy as the Congress presidential candidate as a first step towards ousting her. The Congress Parliamentary Board was to take this critically important decision at Bangalore but its meeting was to be preceded by that of the Working Committee. Absenting herself from it, she sent it a note titled “Some Stray Thoughts, Hurriedly Dictated.” In it she did not endorse bank nationalisation but indicated that she was prepared to “consider” nationalisation even before the expiry of the two-year limit.

The hint to her opponents was clear — “let’s compromise again” — but they refused to take it, and chose Reddy by a majority of four to three. Reacting like a “wounded tigress,” she hit back but at a target other than the one generally expected. Her home minister, Y. B. Chavan, had “betrayed” her and voted with her opponents. She left him alone, but divested Desai of the finance portfolio — on the ground that it was “unfair” to “burden him with the responsibility” to implement policies he did not believe in — and took over the finance portfolio herself. But she asked him to stay on as deputy prime minister without portfolio. Desai understandably refused. Fat was now well and truly in the fire.

... contd.