Congress Sonia

Congress chief Sitaram Kesri has done the obvious when he projected Sonia Gandhi as the party's prime ministerial candidate. The moment she ...

Congress chief Sitaram Kesri has done the obvious when he projected Sonia Gandhi as the party8217;s prime ministerial candidate. The moment she decided to campaign, it was certain that Congress politics will henceforth revolve around her. The party8217;s campaign so far clearly suggests that it is Rajiv Gandhi8217;s widow who calls the shots in the party. Even in the distribution of tickets, it was her wish that mattered most as is borne out by the denial of tickets to H.K.L. Bhagat, Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler. Thus Kesri is only being truthful when he says Sonia will be the party8217;s leader if the Congress romps home victorious. No longer can the party be accused of not projecting anyone as its prime ministerial candidate. Given the fact that in all the previous elections the Congress projected someone as its leader, its inability on this score in this election was a major handicap.

While Kesri addressed this problem 8212; albeit in his characteristically helpless fashion 8212; Sonia has not covered herself with gloryeither by being less than straightforward about her political intentions. Her gameplan is quite clear. She does not want to be bogged down in a contest even if it is in as familiar a terrain as Amethi as a surprise defeat would put paid to all her claims of invincibility. It will also deprive her of the image of a self-sacrificing widow coming to the aid of the Congress.

Perchance her gamble pays off and the Congress manages to get past the winning post, nothing will prevent party MPs from choosing her as their leader. The level of sycophancy in the party is such that she need not have any doubts on this point. After all, Narasimha Rao and Deve Gowda were not members of the Lok Sabha when they were chosen as Prime Ministers. It was this stratagem that the party sought to employ when it announced that the leadership question would be decided by the MPs themselves. The reason why it has forsaken this cautious approach and come out with the announcement that Sonia would be the leader is not far to seek. Theparty has been emboldened in no small measure by the response she has been getting from the crowds who are thronging to her meetings, a fact admitted even by her detractors like Harkishen Singh Surjeet and V.P. Singh. Besides, she is no longer the reticent widow reading out prepared texts as she first appeared to be and has begun imitating her late mother-in-law8217;s time-tested techniques to strike a rapport with the crowds. It is a measure of her new-found confidence that Sonia has claimed that 8220;under the right leadership8221; the Congress can regain its lost glory.

Whether projecting Sonia as the Congress8217; prime ministerial candidate has its advantages or not, it will at least provide some clarity to the party8217;s election campaign. Voters now have a clear choice before them on whether to vote for Sonia Gandhi or the BJP8217;s Atal Behari Vajpayee. The Congress cannot fault the Opposition if its campaign will hereafter be Sonia-centric. It cannot also ignore the fact that if Sonia fails to convert the crowds intovotes, she will have no alibis to explain away the defeat. For Sonia and the dynasty that she represents, it8217;s a case of now or never.