Click to play videoNew Delhi: Unable to hold back his tears, Arjun Singh broke down at a Congress rally this year. The reason - his son and daughter had been denied tickets by the Congress. It was the first sign that the veteran Congressman was in the winter of his career in the Congress.
The final blow fell on Friday and what was being speculated on was made official. Arjun Singh was seen as too old - even old fashioned - for the new Cabinet.
His tenure as HRD minister in the last government was full of controversy. He institutionalised the term detoxification - which really meant undoing what the BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi had done in the HRD ministry.
He was accused of interfering with the autonomy of IITs and IIMs, contrary to the Common Minimum Programme of the UPA. He took on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself by rejecting all recommendations made by the Prime Minister-appointed National Knowledge Commission.
And most controversially, he pushed through the 27 per cent OBC quota inspite of massive opposition from students across the country, which will perhaps be his overarching legacy.
From being one of the most powerful Congressmen in Madhya Pradesh, his home ground, and at the Centre, the Thakur is now heading for political exile after 50 years in the Congress.
He joined the party in 1960 after being elected into Parliament in 1957 as an independent. He was made Madhya Pradesh chief minister in 1980 and best remembered for his battle against the dreaded dacoits of Chambal, most of whom surrendered to him in dramatic, public ceremonies including Phoolan Devi.
He was also governor of Punjab in its most difficult period. He handled the Rajiv Longowal Pact to end militancy in the state, even though the pact failed. Arjun Singh was moved to the Centre in 1985 under Rajiv Gandhi and first became HRD minister in 1991 under P V Narsimha Rao.
Arjun Singh and Narasimha Rao always had an uneasy relationship. Both were in powerful positions - one in the government and one in the party.
In fact, the ambitious Arjun Singh came closest to becoming prime minister after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, when Rao was rumoured to be close to getting sacked. And though that ambition was left unrealised, the wily Thakur still managed to keep himself relevant in politics and government till 2009.
Then, time finally ran out on him.
OTHERS WHO ARE NOT ON THE LIST
- Mines Minister Sis Ram Ola
- Law Minister H R Bharadwaj
- JMM supremo Shibu Soren
- Former water resources minister Saifuddin Soz
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