B.G. Verghese,
Veteran Journalist and Editor
The big question at that time was, "After Nehru, who?" Morarji Desai and Lal Bahadur Shastri were both being discussed as possible successors. Nehru always denied grooming Indira for political power, but she did serve as Congress president in 1959. The post had a one-year term limit, and she made way for Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy in 1960.
The pedestal: Indira Gandhi at a public meeting