Arun Jaitley was different things to different people.
For his fellow politicians, he was the most apolitical person when it came to intra-personal relationships. He did not wear his politics on his sleeves, keeping his differences limited to Parliament.
For his friends — no matter whether they were business leaders, old pals from court rooms or ordinary folk, including journalists — Jaitley could be just one of them, showing remarkable understanding of their issues, tribulations and, even mid-life crisis and unfulfilled ambitions. Some of them could not help but admire him as a close friend even if they did not like his political affiliation. There were innumerable instances when Jaitley would be their first point of call for help to tide over a trouble. His sense of humour left an indelible mark and lifted many of them out of doom.
Whether he was a senior minister or just an opposition leader, Jaitley never let his acquaintances or not-so-close friends feel that he was too important to lend his ears to them. If he could, Jaitley never hesitated to make a call to help them out.
For the captains of the industry, Jaitley was almost one of them to the point that he risked being accused of siding with them because of his social proximity. They loved him back, of course. He knew their fears, hopes and aspirations. They believed his word, and the political capital he commanded because of his equations with top leaders.
Persuasive speaker and intellectual
Amid all this, Jaitley never fancied himself as a mass leader or a big vote catcher like Prime Minister Narendra Modi or an effective public speaker like the late Sushma Swaraj.
However, he made up for that and more with an intellectual heft for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was often seen as a liberal in the mould of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani (before Advani embarked on the rath yatra).
Never seen as a hardliner, Jaitley was successful in engaging, persuading and even convincing a large section of the thinking class (including the media) and help ending their antipathy towards the saffron party.
Whether it was Article 370, anti-triple talaq, or Ram temple, Jaitley was the party’s chosen one who used his skills that he learnt since his days as a successful lawyer. He knew the art of separating the essential arguments in favour of the BJP from a Right-of-centre ideological standpoint.
In the process, he helped drown the cacophony from hardline leaders and calm the hotheads on his side. At the same time, he knew how to hold on to his beliefs and counter the Left-leaning intellectuals.
Clout and conviction
Jaitley’s circle of influence was largely on account of his style. As a senior member of Modi’s Cabinet from 2014 to 2019, his role was even more significant: He articulated the PM’s bold moves and the government’s new policies in a manner that often took wind out of the Opposition’s sails.
As an able parliamentarian, Jaitley carried immense clout and conviction across party lines, which came handy for the BJP on different occasions.
At times, his good equations with opposition leaders, particularly from the Congress, raised eyebrows of leaders on his side. Some even accused him of being too soft on his close friends from the Congress who were opposing Modi. However, as Jaitley had Modi’s ears (just as he had Vajpayee’s and Advani’s when they were at the helm), other BJP leaders could not but look from the side lines.
Rise of a key strategist
Before BJP President Amit Shah emerged on the national scene, Jaitley was seen as a key player in preparing the party's strategies for the Lok Sabha and the assembly elections.
He was in-charge of states such as Gujarat since 2002, besides Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Assam and West Bengal.
It was in 2006, after the untimely demise of Pramod Mahajan, that Jaitley emerged as one of the most important strategists for the BJP. Till then, Mahajan was regarded as one of the great organisers for the party. Jaitley had differences with Mahajan on means and methods for the BJP’s growth. That said, both the leaders appreciated each other’s strengths.
Jaitley and Modi
Jaitley’s friendship with Modi began in the late1990s, when the latter shifted out of Gujarat and become a BJP functionary looking after Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Their bond strengthened when Modi became Gujarat Chief Minister and faced immense pressure in the aftermath of the 2002 riots.
Once Modi consolidated his position in Gujarat by winning three assembly polls and was set for a bigger role in New Delhi, Jaitley emerged his confidante.
In the run up to the 2014 general elections when it was to be decided who would be the BJP’s PM candidate, Jaitley sided with the Gujarat strongman, while many of his peers, particularly Swaraj, backed Advani to be projected a second time. As the rank and file of the BJP (excluding those who supported Advani) rallied behind Modi, Jaitley’s loyalty and guidance tremendously boosted him.
By early 2014, Modi had emerged BJP’s prime ministerial candidate with Jaitley firmly behind him as his chief adviser. Rajnath Singh, as BJP President, provided the organisational back-up in consonance with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Brickbats and bouquets
When Modi led the BJP to victory and that too with a majority in Lok Sabha, it was Jaitley who played a key role in composing the new Union Council of Ministers. Modi relied heavily, among others, on Jaitley’s assessment of BJP leaders who were finally made Cabinet ministers and ministers of state. Jaitley thought that his advice to Modi as largely advisory in nature and, of course, the final call was that of Modi’s.
However, those who were left out in the process turned bitter and blamed Jaitley for influencing the course of selection. This bitterness even extended to those who were never in the reckoning. Jaitley himself never believed that his role was to be detrimental to the careers of his colleagues. Nevertheless, Jaitley earned a lot of brickbats and a very few bouquets from fellow partymen.
Jaitley’s importance
Being new to the Centre, Modi found Jaitley’s acumen very handy to navigate the labyrinth of Delhi’s power corridors. He trusted Jaitley’s judgement on most occasions, and rated highly his probity and integrity, firm as he was to cleanse the system of corruption and scams. Jaitley also respected Modi’s penchant for getting things done.
Modi picked Jaitley to be his finance minister through his government’s first term. This was despite Jaitley unsuccessfully contesting from Amritsar in 2014. That was the only time he contested a parliamentary election. By inducting Jaitley into his Cabinet Modi set aside an unwritten BJP rule of not inducting anyone who had lost in the polls in the Cabinet — this reflected how important Jaitley was for both Modi and the BJP which had come to power at the Centre after a decade.
Jaitley’s many hats
Modi’s dependence on Jaitley saw his work load continue to mount. Besides handing the finance portfolio, Modi entrusted the defence portfolio till Manohar Parrikar shifted from Goa to Delhi. In 2017, Jaitley was back as defence minister as Parrikar returned to Goa. From 2014 to 2016 Jaitley was also the minister of information and broadcasting.
Modi wanted his counsel on many issues before the groups of ministers set up for resolution.
With Jaitley as finance minister, Modi was able to take several key and bold economic initiatives, such as demonetisation and the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Under Jaitley's stewardship Modi merged the railway budget with the general budget, and also took the decision to advance the date of the general budget to February 1. Jaitley also introduced the landmark Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Somewhere in the midst of all this hectic schedule his health started to become a challenge. He underwent medical treatment and due to poor health he was not able to present the 2018 Budget and the interim budget in February. Subsequently, he also did not contest the Lok Sabha polls in May.
When Modi won the mandate for a second time, Jaitley cited health reasons to opt out of the Cabinet. Modi drove down to his house to seek his counsel in deciding the new team and went to make Nirmala Sitharaman the finance minister.
Activist-lawyer-politician
Jaitley cut his political teeth as an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activist during and after the Emergency. However, Jaitley’s moment came in 1989 when VP Singh revolted against Rajiv Gandhi and became PM on the plank of fighting corruption in defence deals. Jaitley became his government’s additional solicitor general to handle the infamous Bofors case.
In 1991, Jaitley became BJP national executive member. His sharp wit saw him emerge as one of the party spokespersons during the period preceding the 1999 general elections.
When the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) came to power in 1999, Vajpayee made Jaitley a junior independent minister. Jaitley resigned in July 2002 and along with Mahajan and Venkaiah Naidu returned to the BJP as a general secretary. He worked in this capacity till January 2003 and then went back to the Cabinet as minister of commerce and industry, and law and justice. After the BJP lost the 2004 elections, Jaitley was back as party general secretary, and also continued his legal practice.
In 2009, in the post-Jinnah controversy era, Advani made Jaitley the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Swaraj the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. Along with Swaraj, Jaitley was the face of BJP’s virulent opposition to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule for a decade. Jaitley stopped practising law after assuming this role.
As Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Jaitley helped the UPA government draft the Jan Lokpal Bill as it faced a lot of heat from the Anna Hazare-led movement against corruption.
Jaitley and Swaraj enjoyed a unique relationship. Both admired each other but also had their differences and creative tension. Swaraj passed away on August 6, and this disturbed Jaitley to a very great extent.
Today as the sad news of his demise comes, Jaitley will be missed, and not only in the political spectrum, but also (and even more) among his wider circle of admirers, loyalists and critics. Having known him for more than three decades, I am one among them.
Shekhar Iyer is former senior associate editor of Hindustan Times and political editor of Deccan Herald. Views are personal.
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