Candidate Sonia

It has now become a familiar scenario. First, the agonisingly long spell of suspense, which is broken at the last moment by seemingly innocuous announcements made by lesser Congress party leaders like Madhavrao Scindia and Ajit Jogi. And they do not forget to let it be known that it is the rising clamour of Congresspersons that is forcing Sonia Gandhi to condescend to contest the Lok Sabha election herself, although she has not made up her mind as to which fortunate constituency is to be favoured thus. Then speaks the Sphinx in person, making it appear that contesting polls is only for those made of the sternest stuff.

Far from unpredictable is what is likely to follow. The country will be treated to the spectacle of joyous party cadres welcoming the decision with bhangra and banners outside 10, Janpath and state units competing with each other in offering Madam a safe constituency and perhaps even an attempted self-immolation or two to underline the passion with which all this is being done. But isthis really necessary, this reenactment of all the previous highpoints in a palace-dweller’s political career? After her dramatic entry into politics, her takeover of the Congress presidentship and her return to the post within days of relinquishing it in disinterested service to the party and the people, do the motions have to be gone through all over again? Only the practitioners of the family cult would be able to answer this in the affirmative. But the cognoscenti, especially those who refused to buy the argument that the Congress president had no prime ministerial ambitions, had always believed that it would only be a matter of time before Sonia Gandhi stood for elections personally. And indeed she must contest, and not just because the campaign would do her spoken Hindi a great deal of good. This experience will, in turn, come in handy when she gets up to speak in Parliament. It will also be a more effective counter than the constitutional one to the foreign origin’ fusillade against her. The campaigncould help bring the nation’s bahu’ nearer to the people than her army of Black Cats ever will. In any case, this course is more in consonance with the spirit of democracy than any other.

Few Sonia-watchers would see these considerations as the factor behind her entry into the electoral fray, but the decision is welcome nevertheless. Amethi, meanwhile, awaits its possible return to VVIP constituency status, even as others can be expected to make bids for the honour. It may be pointless, at this juncture, to raise questions about the larger role of parliamentarians which must, strictly speaking, go beyond constituency-nursing. It would, however, be pertinent to point to the inherent danger arising from her decision to contest: that of personality politics coming to dominate elections and public life once again. Her entry into the poll arena should not be allowed to revive this particular form of politics. After all, the nation had done well to put this legacy behind it for some time now.