King’s Gambit
In Madhya Pradesh, politics has found an unusual battlefield—Daly College. The prestigious public school in Indore, established in 1870, has as its alumni some of the state’s political bigwigs—former CM Digvijaya Singh, MLA Laxman Singh, former Union minister Arun Yadav, the current Guna Lok Sabha MP K.P. Yadav and seven MLAs from the state.
In a hostile takeover of the school board on April 6, Narendra Singh Jhabua, of the erstwhile royal family of Jhabua and the president of the board at the time, and his son Jai Singh, a parents’ nominee on the board, were forced out by a group within the board. Sources say the trouble began over then principal Neeraj Bedhotiya seeking an extension. One section of the board was opposed to it, while the Jhabuas were in favour. The father and son were taken by surprise when they were stopped by the sub divisional magistrate (SDM), a tehsildar and police personnel from attending a board meeting. The SDM was carrying out orders from the office of registrar of firms and societies, which had apparently received a complaint on April 4 by an ex-student about Narendra Singh having his son on the board.
The school’s board has 10 members—two alumni, two government nominees, two parents’ nominees, two old donors, usually members of the erstwhile royal families, one new donor, and the principal, an ex officio member without voting rights. From among these, the president and vice-president are elected for a period of five years. The present board came into being in December 2020. After alumni Dheeraj Lulla and Sandeep Parekh were elected, the BJP government nominated BJP MLA Rajvardhan Singh (of the Narsinghgarh royal family) and Vikram Singh Puar (of the erstwhile Dewas family), whose mother is Dewas BJP MLA Gayatri Raje. Narendra Singh Jhabua and Congress MLA Priyavrat Singh were elected from the category of old donors, while Harpal Singh Bhatia was brought on as the new donor. Sumit Chandhok and Jai Singh Jhabua were parents’ nominees. The members then elected Narendra Singh as president.
The clash within the school board has now turned into a proxy war between the Congress and the BJP with certain board members affiliated to the latter allegedly calling in the Indore administration to help them establish control over the board and edging out the Jhabuas, who are close to Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.
The board, on April 6, elected Vikram Singh Puar as president and Rajvardhan Singh as vice-president. Recently, Gunmeet Kaur Bindra became Daly’s first ever woman principal. “The presence of the police on campus suggests that the government is keen on controlling the school,” says a former student. So why is Daly’s board so sought-after? Besides the prestige, all decisions related to the working of the school, including admissions, have to be approved by the board. It also helps that the institution is flush with funds.
Digvijaya Singh expressed his anguish over the fracas on social media: “Unfortunately, because of some vested interests, the MP government and Indore administration are openly flouting rules and interfering in the functioning of the School .... For god’s sake, don’t make Daly College a political akhada.”
The matter has now reached the high court. Jai Singh moved the Indore High Court on April 13 and secured a stay against his removal from the board. “The notice was unconstitutional…. The subsequent stay by the HC vindicates my stand,” Jai Singh told india today. Narendra Singh may move court too, say sources. Keeping politics out of Daly is clearly just a pipe dream. ■
THE CLASH WITHIN THE SCHOOL BOARD HAS TURNED INTO A PROXY WAR BETWEEN THE CONGRESS AND THE BJP