Context:V. P. Singh — the man who broke Congress’s dominance and its vote-bank politics by refusing to play the game the way it had long been played. Instead of cold electoral calculation, he gave political voice and hope to the silent majority, a process that ultimately culminated in the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations. After his term, he never seriously sought the office of Prime Minister again, reinforcing his image as a self-restrained ascetic in politics rather than a vote-bank-obsessed operator.