Manmohan Singh:How he lost the 1st and last election of his life (1999 Election) ? Story Unveiled….

This is about the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. Sonia Gandhi ticket for South Delhi Lok Sabha seat Manmohan Singh Gave it to. Today’s leaders may be eager to get election tickets, but Manmohan Singh was not originally a leader. He had no interest at all in contesting elections. Wife Gursharan Kaur was also against it. But, there were orders from ‘Madam’. It was also difficult to avoid. So, going against his wife’s wishes and killing himself, Manmohan Singh entered the election field. Manmohan Singh felt that if the party made him the candidate, then all the party leaders and workers would naturally stay with him. But, he did not know the trick of politics.

20 lakh rupees were received from the party

Manmohan Singh was given twenty lakh rupees by the party to contest the elections. He felt that this amount was enough, but when his campaign manager Harcharan Singh Josh made him face the reality of politics, he was shocked. Obviously, ‘Doctor Saheb’ (as Manmohan Singh’s close associates called him) was bound to lose the election. He definitely lost. But while telling the story behind this in an interview, Josh had said that Manmohan Singh They were not defeated, they were defeated. Josh had told the inside story of that election to ‘Caravan’ magazine in 2011. Josh had said- Congress’s victory was certain. The competition in South Delhi had become ‘Doctor Saheb’ versus ‘Karsevak’.

Vijay Kumar Malhotra was the candidate from BJP.

Vijay Kumar Malhotra was the candidate from BJP. His chances were zero. In the previous assembly elections, Congress had won 10 out of 14 seats. Sonia Gandhi herself had given ticket to Manmohan Singh, but the party considered him an outsider candidate and he did not get the support of the workers. Josh said that the twenty lakh rupees that Manmohan Singh had received from the party was more than the other candidates. But he felt that the MLAs and councilors would help him without any money and would work to make him victorious! The money was running out there. There was no shortage of people giving money.

Industrialists used to bring money from Calcutta, but Manmohan Singh did not meet them. Not even after Josh told that at least one crore rupees would be required and the money available was running out. One day Josh repeated everything in front of his wife and daughter Daman Singh. Still Manmohan Singh did not agree. Then Josh said – Doctor Saheb, we will lose the elections. It was then that Manmohan Singh agreed. Josh had told ‘Caravan’ magazine that people would come to meet Doctor Saheb and say – tell me some service. Doctor Saheb told him – I just need your blessings and nothing else. He would hand over the money to Madam (Gursharan) in the inner room. There was no shortage of money now, but the art of energizing the workers and attracting voters was still lacking. Many Congress leaders and their supporting councilors also worked to defeat him. Manmohan Singh lost the election. In 2004, he was once again offered a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections, but he decline .