MANGALURU: It was January 1980 and the country was getting ready for the seventh Lok Sabha elections. Handwritten posters surfaced on the walls across the erstwhile Udupi Lok Sabha constituency, which stretched from Bantwal to Byndoor then.
The posters demanded that the Congress (I) ticket be given to a 39-year-old man, who had just been a Udupi Municipality Councillor for one term and did not have any experience in winning big elections. Initially, then Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president S Bangarappa, senior leader R Gundu Rao and others sought to ignore the posters as they were looking for a strong candidate to take on TA Pai of Congress (U), a heavyweight who had also served as a union minister handling several big portfolios, including the railways and heavy industries.
But the wave sweeping in favour of this political novice was such that they had could not ignore him for long and had to finally give in to people’s demand. A few days later, Indira Gandhi who was in Karwar, asked the young man whether he could win against Pai and he smiled and nodded his head. The rest is history. The young man, Oscar Fernandes, went on to decimate Pai and win the election by a big margin. Oscar, who was 80 years old, passed away on Monday in Mangaluru.
This must only heighten the political loneliness of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, who has lost within a gap of one year two of her most trusted aides, Oscar and Ahmed Patel, who passed away in November last year. While Patel was a troubleshooter managing contradictions within the party, Oscar was a quintessential organisational man who promoted younger leaders. Oscar’s close proximity to the Gandhi family began when he became the parliamentary secretary of then PM Rajiv Gandhi and it continued with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, making him an invaluable leader for the party.
Funeral to be held in Bengaluru on Thursday
Though he was close to the Gandhi family, he never flaunted his ‘connections’. He would spend hours at the Delhi Congress office, talking to common people. He was the Union minister for highways in UPA-1, but chose not to opt for the cabinet post in the second innings. He returned to party organisation, saying that was where his heart lay. What made Oscar, son of a school teacher, stand out among political behemoths was his simplicity. When other leaders chose to be distant from common people, Oscar would mingle with the public and hear out their problems, which made him popular among the masses.
His popularity got him elected as Lok Sabha member five times in a row. Even as an MP, he used to surprise people by showing up in roadside canteens and parks. Being close to the high command, Oscar spent most of his political career in Delhi. While many credit George Fernandes for the success of Konkan Railway, Oscar’s contribution too cannot be ignored. He travelled across Udupi to convince people to give up their land for the project. Oscar had been in hospital since July 19, a day after he had a fall in his apartment in Mangaluru, while doing his morning exercises.
A blood clot was detected in his brain after which he fell unconscious and was being treated in ICU. He had slipped into a coma later. His wife Blossom and son Oshan were by his side when the end came at 1.53 pm. His daughter Oshanie rushed to Mangaluru from Bengaluru. On Tuesday, his mortal remains will be kept at Udupi DCC office at 10 am, then will be taken to Mother of Sorrows Church and later to his ancestral house. On Wednesday, the funeral mass will be held at Milagres Church, Mangaluru at 10 am. Later, in the evening the body will be airlifted to Bengaluru. On Thursday at 10 am, it will be kept for public viewing at the KPCC office. After the prayers at St Patrick’s Church at 3.30 pm, the burial will take place at Hosur Road cemetery.