(Photo by TS Satyan; discovered in my parents' files)
After Nehru, Who?
Well before the actual decision had to be made, Indira Gandhi, for one, felt it had to be LBS, since he had excellent connections among the senior cabinet members, the experience, the confidence of common people, and was more than acceptable to the rank and file of the party. Moreover , as Home Minister, he held the strings of power.
(Azad and Pant had passed on.)
Morarji never had a chance, despite his pretensions to seniority. Neither did Kamaraj (he knew it), and for all his experience, Babu Jagjivan Ram was not acceptable to many. Krishna Menon was loathed. And Nanda-ji was not the kind of person who could lead the party.
Indira Gandhi's endorsement soured when she felt she was being increasingly sidelined (while in his ministry) from functions that she considered were important in preserving the Nehruvian line.
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