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Former Union minister Kamaluddin Ahmed dumps Congress, jumps to BJP

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

The Congress seems to treat the resignation of its former Andhra Pradesh chief and former Union minister Mohammed Kamaluddin Ahmed and his joining the Bharatiya Janata Party as a development of no consequence. "It will not have any impact at all, since he has been an absolute zero in politics," remarked another senior Congress politician.

Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy is certain that Ahmed's exit will have no impact. "As he is above 65, he is not able to wait for four or five more years. He may be angling for an ambassador's post," Reddy remarked.

But some Congress politicians are at a loss why Ahmed quit the party after being associated with it for five decades and opted for the saffron brigade. "Kamaluddin Ahmed was a senior Congress leader who occupied various positions. He was a legislator and an MP. He had a stint in the Union Cabinet and served as the APCC chief also. He was even accommodated as NAFED chairman in the mid-1980s after he lost the Lok Sabha election," recalled K Rosaiah, another former APCC president.

"Kamaluddin served the Congress for quite a long time. He claims that there is a change in the attitude of the BJP and he is attracted by its new approach towards the minorities. He felt it convenient to join the BJP. He has taken this decision. What can we say," Rosaiah added.

But even Rosaiah, who had succeeded Ahmed as the APCC chief in 1995, felt that the development would have no impact on the party. "As far as the Congress is concerned, his leaving the party will not make any difference. It will not have any impact on the minorities. I am sure the minorities will not feel happy with his decision," he said.

But Rajasekhar Reddy openly scoffs at Ahmed. "His quitting will have no impact, either on the party or the minorities. If he felt so strongly what he is saying now, why did he choose to contest the Hanamkonda parliamentary seat on a Congress ticket in the 1999 election? Had he not contested, we would have won the seat easily."

Asked whether Ahmed's joining the BJP would make a difference to the Congress in Telangana, Reddy shot back: "He is absolutely unpopular and does not have any contact with the people. Only during election time he visited the constituency."

Asked about Ahmed's proximity to former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, Reddy quipped: "He is close to anyone in a position of power. He was close to Sitaram Kesri, Sharad Pawar, Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao."

Congress circles believe Ahmed was seeking greener pastures. Over the last few months, he has been feeling uncomfortable in the party. Sources close to him said he felt humiliated when his name was bracketed with other aspirants for the Lok Sabha ticket from Hanamkonda when the pradesh election committee shortlisted the names for the recent Lok Sabha election. An infuriated Ahmed, himself a member of the PEC, had threatened to walk out of the meeting. He finally managed to get the party ticket from the high command, despite opposition from Warangal district politicians and Dr Reddy.

Ahmed began his legislative career in 1962 with his election to the state assembly from Cherial in his native Warangal. He was re-elected to the assembly from Jangaon in 1967. When P V Narasimha Rao became chief minister of the state in 1971, he became chairman of the State Road Transport Corporation.

Elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Warangal constituency, he lost to his Telugu Desam Party rival in 1984. Subsequently, thanks to his proximity to Narasimha Rao, Ahmed was appointed chairman of the National Agriculture Marketing Federation. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Hanamkonda constituency thrice, in 1989, 1991 and 1996. But he lost to the TDP's Chada Suresh Reddy in 1998 and 1999.

Ahmed was inducted as a minister in the Narasimha Rao Cabinet in 1991. He was handpicked to head the state Congress on the eve of the 1994 assembly election. But the Congress was routed by the TDP led by the late N T Rama Rao and the party's strength in the assembly came down from 183 to an all-time low of 26. It did not even qualify for the status of the main opposition party. That debacle blotted Ahmed's copybook for ever. Rosaiah replaced him.

Meanwhile, the state BJP has hailed Ahmed's entry. Former state BJP chief V Rama Rao said the senior politician's decision had exposed the "wrong propaganda" carried out by vested interests against the BJP.

"People have started looking at the BJP in a different perspective. They don't think the BJP is communal. The nationalist approach pursued by the BJP has ultimately started giving good results with the minorities. In fact, the minorities have begun reposing confidence in the BJP. This is the beginning of a closer relationship of the minorities with the BJP," he told rediff.com

The minorities have a sizeable presence in Andhra Pradesh and play a crucial role in elections. "It will definitely have an impact on the minorities in the longer run," he added.

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