Why was Jawaharlal Nehru selected as the first Prime Minister of India instead of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel?
By 1946, it had become clear that Indian independence was only a matter of time. World War II was over and the British authorities were beginning to think about the transfer of power to the Indians. An interim government was to be formed under the chairmanship of the President of the Congress as Congress won a majority of seats in the 1946 elections. Suddenly, the position of the President of the Congress became very important as this very person would be the first Prime Minister of India. independent.
At the time, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the president of the Congress party. In fact, he has been president for the past six years because the election has not been possible due to the presidency of the Congress since 1940 due to the abandonment of India, World War II and the fact that many leaders are behind bars.
Azad was also keen to fight and win the election as Congress president because he too aspired to be the Prime Minister, but he was undoubtedly told by Mahatma Gandhi that he would not accept the second term of the sitting Congress. the president and Azad had to fall in line, even if they didn’t want to. Not only that, Gandhi explained to everyone that Nehru was the candidate for the presidency of the Congress.
The last date for the election of the President of the Congress, thus the Prime Minister of India, is April 29, 1946. And the candidatures were to be made by the 15 Provincial / District Congress Committees. Although Gandhi is best known for his love of Nehru as the president of the Congress, no committee of the Congress has established the name of Nehru.
In contrast, 12 of the 15 congressional committees nominated Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. The remaining three Congress committees did not provide the name of any body. Apparently, a large number supported Sardar Patel. It was a problem for Mahatma Gandhi. He ordered Acharya JB kriplani to find some candidates for Nehru members of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) even though he was well aware that only the Pradesh Congress committees were allowed to elect the President. In response to Gandhi's request, Kripalani persuaded a few CWC members to apply. Nehru's name for the party president. Gandhi did not know the immorality of this exercise. He had made it clear that what he wanted to bring was not wrong and that it was completely unjust.
In fact, he tried to convince Nehru of the truth. He informed Nehru that no PCC had given his name and that few CWC members had voted for him. Nehru was shocked by the shell and refused to make it clear that he would not play for anyone. Gandhi was disappointed Gandhi agreed that Nehru hated him and asked Sardar Patel to remove his name. Sardar Patel is very respectful of Gandhi and abandons his candidacy without wasting time. And it paved the way for the coronation of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru as India's first Prime Minister.
But why did Gandhi ignore the great support of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel? Why was he so popular with Nehru? When Dr Rajendra Prasad heard that Sardar Patel had withdrawn his candidacy, he was upset and said that Gandhi had once again offered his trusted lieutenant to support the ‘good Nehru’. Did Nehru's 'glamor' and 'sophistication' make Gandhi so happy that he did not hesitate to commit extreme injustice to Patel?
The answer to this question is not easy. But a careful analysis of Gandhi's approach to Patel and Nehru sheds light on a few things that could explain the mystery. There is no denying that Gandhi had had a ‘softer corner’ for Nehru since its inception and had chosen Nehru more than Sardar Patel at least twice before 1946 for the presidency of Congress. It happened in 1929 as well as in 1937.
Gandhi was always fascinated by Nehru’s style. Compared to Nehru, Sardar Patel was orthodox and Gandhi thought India needed a modern man in his own way. Above all, Gandhi always knew that Sardar Patel would never despise him. He did not trust Nehru very much. Gandhi's fears came true when Nehru explained to him that he did not want to play with anyone.
Gandhi was always fascinated by Nehru’s style. Compared to Nehru, Sardar Patel was orthodox and Gandhi thought India needed a modern man in his own way. Above all, Gandhi always knew that Sardar Patel would never despise him. He did not trust Nehru very much. Gandhi's fears came true when Nehru explained to him that he did not want to play with anyone.
Presumably, Gandhi wanted both Nehru and Patel to lead the country. He used his veto power to support Nehru because he feared that Nehru could cause problems on the path to Indian independence if he was not given the chance to be the next prime minister. Some analysts also said that Nehru would divide the Congress if he was not appointed Prime Minister.
According to the analysts, Nehru forced Gandhi to support him saying that if he separated from the Congress, the whole independence process would go wrong because the British would find an excuse to delay independence by asking the question of who should be handed over to the authorities, Congress and Nehru or Congress away. Nehru.
Gandhi must have thought that it would be better to ask Sardar Patel to make a sacrifice than to think of Nehru who had been beaten. In fact, he had said that Nehru had gone mad. So we can confirm that Gandhi chose Nehru over Patel for two main reasons:
1. Gandhi believed that Nehru, a learned foreigner with modern ideas, had something in common with Patel, who, as he sees it, was orthodox in his ideas.
2. Gandhi feared that Nehru would rebel in the event of his loss of the post of Prime Minister and that this would accuse the British of delaying the transfer of power. On the other hand, he had fully accepted Sardar Patel's loyalty. He knew that Sardar Patel was a true patriot and would never play a game of damage.
But Gandhi's decision proved to be too expensive for the country.
First of all, Gandhi came up with the idea of forcible decision-making called the ‘supreme law’ which usually means overthrowing government institutions. The exercise, which is now politically motivated, has rejected the idea of party-based democracy. Nehru's looting of Kashmir and China has undoubtedly shown that Gandhi made a mistake in supporting Nehru, showing that he has completely ignored the support of many PCCs for Sardar Patel.
Even two well-known critics of Sardar Patel have confirmed that Gandhi's decision to elect Nehru to Patel is not correct.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad admitted in his autobiography published after his death in 1959, "I was wrong for not supporting Sardar Patel. We differed on many issues but I am sure that if he had succeeded me as President he would have seen that the cabinet agenda was well implemented. It would not have made the mistake of Jawaharlal giving Mr. Jinnah the opportunity to destroy the Plan .I can never forgive him if I think that if I had not made these mistakes, maybe the history of the last ten years would have been different.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad admitted in his autobiography published after his death in 1959, "I was wrong for not supporting Sardar Patel. We differed on many issues but I am sure that if he had succeeded me as President he would have seen that the cabinet agenda was well implemented. It would not have made the mistake of Jawaharlal giving Mr. Jinnah the opportunity to destroy the Plan .I can never forgive him if I think that if I had not made these mistakes, maybe the history of the last ten years would have been different.
Similarly, C Raj Gopalachary, who accused Sardar Patel of ousting him as the first president of independent India, wrote: “It would certainly be better if Nehru was asked to be the Foreign Minister and Patel to be the Prime Minister. I also fell into the error of believing that Jawaharlal was the enlightened man in both ... The proverb that had grown from Patel that he would harm the Muslims. This was a misconception but a prevailing prejudice. "
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