In Delhi's current deeply polarised political scenario, Arun Jaitley, 66, was a rare politician who had friends in all the parties. They came to him for counsel, and help. Perhaps, even went enriched with juicy gossip or an anecdote! Jaitley was a master storyteller. More importantly, he was the powerful friend everyone wanted to have.
In Jaitley's death, the BJP lost its key crisis manager and a poll strategist. Within days of senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj's demise due to a heart attack, Jaitley's health also took a turn for the worse. He was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on August 9. He breathed his last on August 24 at 12.07pm.
After L.K. Advani, both Swaraj and Jaitley were the face of the BJP in Delhi—both articulate and suave. Swaraj towered with her oratorical appeal among the masses. A trained lawyer, Jaitley impressed with his intellect and turn of phrase. Both shared a cordial, but at times, strained comradeship. Swaraj stayed close to Advani, while Jaitley moved closer to the party general secretary, who had just been appointed the Gujarat chief minister—Narendra Modi. Modi as party general secretary used to stay in 9 Ashoka Road, the bungalow allotted to Jaitley.
Jaitley first helped Modi steer away from the accusations over the Gujarat riots, and later Amit Shah, who was accused of a fake encounter, during their tenure in Gujarat. Jaitley was also the key architect of Modi's first government at the Centre. He helped Modi and Shah—both outsiders to the capital—to negotiate the circuitous ways of Lutyens' Delhi. Modi trusted Jaitley for key decisions and political messaging. Though Jaitley lost the first Lok Sabha elections he fought from Amritsar in 2014, Modi entrusted him with the finance and defence portfolios. He was the proverbial number two in the NDA regime, even though Rajnath Singh was the senior-most member of the Modi Cabinet.
During the last five years, Jaitley's key skill-set to understand Lutyens' power structure also became a rallying point for the hardcore Hindutva vote bank and constituents to hit out at him as they saw him to be too lenient to the opposition parties particularly the Congress. After Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jaitley was the only BJP leader who was sometimes termed by saffron party's ideological opponents as the “right man in the wrong party”.
During his tenure as the finance minister, the country saw two decisions—demonetisation and GST—which have had far-reaching impact on the economy.
Jaitley was forced to take leave from office after he underwent a kidney transplant in May 2018. This year, when Modi went on to win a historic mandate, he asked the prime minister to excuse him from any ministerial assignment as failing health had become a strain. But months before, Jaitley was involved in the election strategy. He had held press conferences, wrote blogs and held strategy sessions to fine-tune the party's messaging. In fact, Modi had asked the party president to seek Jaitley's opinion before finalising the manifesto and campaign material. Jaitley as a party strategist had helped the BJP win many state elections.
In the death of Jaitley, the BJP lost an ace strategist, and Modi-Shah a trusted friend.
Jaitley had given up his law practice years ago as he was entrusted with key responsibilities in the party including that of leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha in 2009. It was as a lawyer that he earned his spurs. Then prime minister V.P. Singh had appointed him as the advocate general, the youngest-ever person to be elevated to that top post.
Before that, Jaitley had started his political career as a student leader. He was elected Delhi University Student's Union president in 1974 as an ABVP activist when Emergency was declared. He was jailed during those days. Jaitley became the minister of state for information and broadcasting (independent charge) in 1999 in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government. He also handled the law ministry. His relations with the judiciary were an asset that made him a powerful and coveted strategist in the party and beyond.
Jaitley, in fact, wore many hats. A keen foodie, Jaitley also took keen interest in sports particularly cricket administration. He was president of Delhi District Cricket Association, vice president in BCCI and governing body member of the IPL. Jaitley could have become BCCI president, but declined due to its political standing in the capital, but guided the richest sports body's politics.
Jaitley is survived by wife Sangeeta, and two children, Sonali and Rohan.