He, she and them

Despite the BJP8217;s carping about Sonia8217;s 8220;super PM8221; role, the 8220;dual powers8221; experiment was largely positive. For one, her 8220;sacrifice8221; had generated enormous goodwill among the usually hostile urban middle classes. Second, Manmohan Singh enjoyed high ratings for his 8220;integrity8221; and 8220;professionalism8221;. But most important, the division of powers between Party and Government could prove an ideal arrangement 8212; allowing the PM to pursue governance, unfettered by the pulls and pressures of party politics, and giving the party president ample opportunity to revive the party organisation which could then be effectively used as the interface between government and the voting public.

That last imperative is particularly crucial in the post-economic reforms era when the biggest challenge facing ruling parties is to combine a market economy with a state8217;s regulatory role; to balance economic growth with equity. The Narasimha Rao government failed to return to power because, among other things, the Congress party 8212; shorn of both its 8220;secular8221; and 8220;socialist8221; tags 8212; was reduced to a shell of its old self. The NDA too faced the same fate, its 8220;India Shining8221; rhetoric boomeranging at the hustings.

The UPA did not want to tread the same path. The Congress leadership was clear that there would be no going back on economic reforms. But it was equally aware, that having come to power by promising to do right by the 8220;aam aadmi8221;, the government-party combine would have to do much more 8212; and seen to be doing much more 8212; for the masses untouched by the Sensex.

To be fair, both Sonia and Singh have tried hard to stick to that script. If the government has kept the economy on track, the National Advisory Council headed by Sonia Gandhi has taken upon itself to give a 8220;human face8221; to the reforms by pursuing flagship schemes such as the NREGP and RTI Act.

Why is it, then, that all does not seem well with the Congress or the UPA? As the Manmohan Singh government approaches its second anniversary, the teething troubles of coalition rule seem to have become a permanent toothache that may require 8212; after the assembly poll results in mid-May 8212; some complex dental surgery.

More disturbing, though, are the discordant voices being raised by Congress leaders themselves which fall in an entirely different category than the Left8217;s critique of government policy. HRD minister Arjun Singh8217;s unilateral announcement of OBC quotas in educational institutions, Natwar Singh8217;s public attack against the government8217;s Nepal policy, Saifuddin Soz8217;s take on Narmada dam and disgruntled whispers of Congressmen down the line may not amount to a concerted challenge to the leadership but reflect a disquieting dissonance at the heart of the UPA.

Contrary to frequently expressed fears two years ago, Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh continue to share an excellent rapport. Ironically, it is the abiding trust between the Big Two that is, at least partly, responsible for the present tensions within the Congress. The prime minister8217;s men are dismissive of any threat to his position or attacks on his policies since they reckon, correctly, that as long as he enjoys Sonia Gandhi8217;s confidence, no one can touch him. Sonia Gandhi, on the other hand, seems happy enough that her NAC agenda is being implemented and feels no need to broad-base her consultations within the party.

In the process, the Congress party remains out of the loop. In the last two years, there has been little effort to re-establish the institutional mechanisms that the Congress was once famed for 8212; and indeed gifted to the entire political system. In the absence of an institutional framework, personalised politics and ad hocism come to the fore. No one knows how decisions are taken or who takes them.

Unlike the BJP or the Left parties which hold regular meetings of party office-bearers and committees to discuss 8212; for better or worse 8212; both strategy and day-to-day tactics, CWC and CPP meetings are infrequently held and seldom provide a platform for genuine debate and discussion. There is little coordination between the PM8217;s media managers and the AICC media committee, which is usually clueless about leadership8217;s thinking on most issues. In the absence of democratic discussions, Congress leaders and even senior ministers are often unaware of the government8217;s position on, say, quotas in private sector or the Narmada controversy. The absence of clear-cut and democratically arrived policy formulations only help disgruntled ministers give vent to what an AICC member described as 8220;frustrology8221; in the guise of ideology.

The discord within the party may only get heightened once the Left ups the ante and smaller parties revive the spectre of a Third Front in the months to come. A flurry of UPA-Left coordination committee meetings and attempts to appease the allies will certainly take place. But the Congress needs to look beyond and look within for only a vibrant intra-party, intra-government and party-government discourse can ensure the Manmohan Singh government8217;s effectiveness and longevity. The 8220;unique8221; Sonia-PM rapport is simply not enough.

manini.chatterjeeexpressindia.com