Chapter 66 #2
"Shaurya ji, the situation is very tense. What exactly is happening? How can the CBI take action against the father of a sitting Chief Minister? This will affect our upcoming elections," a senior party leader voiced his concern.
"The CBI can take action even against a sitting Chief Minister, let alone his father," Shaurya replied calmly.
"That is not up for discussion. I have already made it clear to everyone that no matter the situation or the consequences, I will run this state democratically. And that is exactly what is happening."
"We know that, Shaurya saab. What's done is done. We tried to control the spread of the news about your father's arrest, but it spread like wildfire. Now we need to focus on damage control," said another senior party leader, who also headed the Information and Publicity Department.
"There's a reason I called all of you here," Shaurya said. "I invited only you because I am confident that no matter what, you will stand with me. I want Mr. Virendar Shekhawat to be removed as the party president."
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.
Some were visibly shocked. Others had expected this.
They were not fools. If the CBI had taken such a bold step as arresting the father of a sitting Chief Minister, it was either with the backing of the central government or the state government.
Shaurya, though not part of the ruling party at the Centre, shared warm ties with its leadership and even with the Prime Minister himself.
There was no way such action would have been taken without his knowledge.
They knew Shaurya was aware of everything. What they hadn't expected was this.
He hadn't merely known about it.
He had written the entire script for the drama the whole state was witnessing.
"I don't know what to say... You haven't given any public statement since Virendar ji's arrest, and now suddenly you want his removal?
There are procedures that need to be followed to remove a party president, Shaurya saab.
I'm afraid of the consequences now," said Mr. Naveen Tiwari, the senior party leader and the General Secretary of the party.
"Oh, about the statement—I think you weren't following me on X," Shaurya said calmly, switching on the television.
The screen lit up with his single-line tweet. Their eyes widened at the emotionless, almost brutal neutrality of the words.
"Law must take its course. No individual is bigger than the state or the country."
The tweet had been posted earlier that morning—at the exact time Virendar Shekhawat was being produced before the magistrate. The timing wasn't accidental. It was surgical.
"And what steps are you talking about?" Shaurya asked, though it was clear he already knew the answer.
"Shaurya saab, we need at least eighty percent of our party MLAs to support this move. We need the State Working Committee's backing—or at the very least, their neutrality. And most importantly, we need the party treasurer and the General Secretary on our side," Naveen trailed off.
"You are the General Secretary, Naveen ji," Shaurya replied evenly. "And as for the party treasurer—he's on his way."
Shaurya resumed his lunch as if the conversation were about weather forecasts. The rest of them, however, had gone completely still.
That was when it hit them.
Almost a year ago, the former party treasurer had been arrested on corruption and murder charges. He had been swiftly removed, and a new treasurer—known to be loyal to Shaurya—had been appointed. Back then, it had felt like coincidence.
Now, it felt chilling.
Was Shaurya planning this for more than a year?
Everything suddenly made sense. He hadn't just prepared for this moment—he had engineered it.
"What exactly is your plan, Shaurya ji?" asked one of the senior party leaders, Mr. Pankaj, his discomfort barely concealed.
Shaurya looked up, his expression composed. He had mastered the art of persuasion—not through flattery, but through facts, delivered softly enough to feel reassuring.
"Your father, Rajgopal ji, was fiercely loyal to my grandfather—the founder of this party," Shaurya began. "There was a time when my grandfather had lost trust in everyone, including his own son, Virendar Shekhawat. But he never stopped trusting your father."
He paused, letting the weight of history settle in.
"That same trust is what I place in you, Pankaj ji. In fact, in all of you. That is why you're sitting here today."
The room shifted. Attention sharpened. Pride crept in.
Being trusted by Shaurya Shekhawat—powerful, restrained, and visionary—meant something. His inner circle was small, almost impenetrable, and they were part of it. That realization stirred a quiet sense of loyalty, even gratitude.
"We need to collectively decide the action steps to minimize the damage this entire fiasco is causing to the party's image," Shaurya continued. "I have a few ideas on how we can proceed, but I want your inputs as well."
"Of course, CM saab. We are with you," said Manoj, MLA and the Party's South Wing Working Committee President, without hesitation.
"We have to distance ourselves from the party president, Mr. Virendar Shekhawat.
But with the kind of solidarity statements the party released after Virendar and Shobha Shekhawat's arrest, the party has become closely associated with everything Virendar Shekhawat did.
We can't stop this now, because he is still the party president, and he has a say over the party's voice.
But imagine the damage to our credibility if he is convicted.
People will see it as a conspiracy by our party against them, even though it was the actions of one man alone," Shaurya said calmly, letting the words sink in.
"We need to remove him," someone said.
"Yes, he must be removed from the party president post immediately," the leaders agreed.
"Like Naveen ji pointed out, there is a procedure for this. If we want the courts to stay out of our party affairs, we must first suspend him. Only after a proper inquiry can he be formally removed," Shaurya explained.
"We should have called for his immediate suspension, Shaurya ji. That would have restricted his access to the party's press statements instantly. We delayed by five days," a senior leader questioned.
Shaurya paused before replying, his expression unreadable. "Well, no one called for his removal, and it wouldn't have been wise to suspend him immediately even if someone had. Do you know why?"
Everyone shook their heads, waiting.
"The condescending statements the party released against the central government—and, to some extent, the state government—will work against Virendar Shekhawat in the future," Shaurya said.
His words left them puzzled. How could negative statements by the party's official spokesperson harm only Virendar and not the party itself?
"I let Virendar Shekhawat openly criticize the central government, and my apparent inaction over these five days, so that when the party suspends him and his loyalists—those who participated in criminal offenses—the party's tone will shift immediately.
People will notice that the wrongdoing came from Virendar and his circle, not the party as a whole.
This five-day interval ensures the stark difference between the party with Virendar leading it and the party after removing him will be crystal clear," Shaurya concluded.
The room fell silent. Everyone stood, stunned by the precision of his strategy. They wondered how a man could remain so composed, controlled, and calculating at all times. How could he foresee such intricate consequences before even taking the first step?
"And what next? I'm sure you have a lot in mind, Shaurya ji," Alka, the party's women's wing president, asked.
"I do have a lot in mind, Alka ji, but I don't want to burden all of you with everything right now.
For the moment, our focus should be on removing Virendar Shekhawat and salvaging the party's image.
In these five days, his arrest and his provocative statements against the central and state governments have pushed our approval ratings to a record low.
If this continues, no one can stop Dev Bisht from forming the government," Shaurya said. Everyone nodded in agreement.
Shaurya deliberately avoided mentioning the dissolution of the party or the formation of a new one.
That revelation would only create panic among them, as the process was chaotic and unpredictable.
He wanted to lead them down the path he had chosen without raising doubts, ensuring there was minimal chance of revolt even among his most loyal supporters.
"What procedure do you want to follow, Shaurya ji?" Pankaj asked seriously.
"Naveen ji will have to take the next step. Let us call for an Emergency State Executive Committee meeting," Shaurya said, and the room nodded in unison.
"And most importantly, we must make all party members believe that removing Virendar Shekhawat is the only way to save the party," Naveen added. Everyone agreed.
After finalizing key points and outlining the step by step procedure to remove Virendar Shekhawat from the party president post, the meeting concluded.
Shaurya returned to the Chief Minister's office.
Soon after the General Secretary officially called for the emergency meeting, Shaurya left for the party headquarters.
Journalists crowded around him, trying to extract a statement, but he remained silent. It was not helplessness, as many assumed, but strategy. He had bigger plans in motion, and in the coming weeks, he intended to prove that silence could be far more powerful than words.
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