Despite Rajiv-like start, she has miles to go

Rajiv was also new at the job though he had possibly more experience than Sonia does, having been exposed to party affairs for few years.

But if the AICC session today is any indicator, Sonia is far more businesslike in herapproach than Rajiv ever was. Her opening remarks were focussed on the revival of the party and she gave it an agenda. It was her summing up which showed that she knows what she is about.

In 10 minutes she had answered all the major issues raised during the day’s discussion, point by point. She said she would appoint a task force immediately to convert her morning speech into a concrete agenda. She would address herself to the revival of the party in UP, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal for the Congress is “no Congress” unless it’s revived in the country’s two most populous states.

She assured the gathering that party workers would have “full access” to her “at all times.” “I exist for them,” she said.

She promised that the reconstitution of the Pradesh Congress Committees and District Committees would be done after a process of consultation and “not unilaterally.” Debunking sycophancy, she said she agreed with all those who said that it had no place in the party. “We must say what we meanand mean what we say.” She also made it clear that alliances may be alright in the short run but would do damage to the party in the long run. From someone who had at one time abhorred politics, Sonia Gandhi, who sat through the whole day behind the customary munim desk, presiding over the proceedings of the AICC, and listening intently to speeches of delegates, seemed to be totally at ease among veteran Congress politicians. At many times she smiled and laughed when Sitaram Kesri found his place next to her taken up by Narasimha Rao and tried to squeze in between them.