Heir looms

With his formal taking over as Congress general secretary, the Rahul Gandhi era has begun, and his influence on decision...

With his formal taking over as Congress general secretary, the Rahul Gandhi era has begun, and his influence on decision-making in the Congress is bound to increase. Power players in the Congress have already adapted to the new dynamics. The crowd in Rahul Gandhi8217;s drawing room comprises several heavyweights.

He has slowly begun to make interventions in policy and organisation. His statement in Uttar Pradesh about the affairs of the Congress is illustrative. At least on one policy issue, his stamp is evident 8212; the tribal rights bill. He has intervened in the matter at least twice. While the bill was in its introduction stage, the junior Gandhi was persuaded by conservationists to veto it. Senior leaders of the party had to explain the implications to him before the bill was passed. Now the implementation of the bill is being delayed at the behest of a group close to Rahul, who are convinced that it will adversely affect wildlife.

Generational shift has cut both ways in the Nehru clan. While it has brought radical ideas and freshness to Congress politics and governance, it has also meant setbacks caused by inexperience and impatience.

Motilal Nehru8217;s demand in the early days of the national movement was for dominion status, short of complete independence. But under Jawahar8217;s influence, the moderate Motilal became radical vis-agrave;-vis the British. During Nehru8217;s tenure as PM, two crucial decisions were said to have been tilted by daughter Indira. In 1957, when the states of the country were reorganised on linguistic lines, Gujarat and Maharashtra remained together as an exception, leading to a lot of resentment in both regions. On May 1, 1960 it was divided into two separate states, a call taken by Indira Gandhi, who was then party president. Secondly, Nehru was not willing to dismiss the elected Communist government in Kerala, led by E.M.S. Namboodiripad in 1959. Indira insisted that it be dismissed, and got her way.

When it was her turn to be prime minister, she was seen to give in to the demands of her sons. The Sanjay chapter is more familiar and stark. After Indira8217;s return to power in 1980, 8220;Sanjay8217;s power was at its zenith and practically irresistible,8221; according to Inder Malhotra, Indira8217;s biographer. 8220;Ministers and top civil servants vied with one another to do his bidding, however arbitrary. Those having qualms about this soon found themselves in trouble; politicians were sidelined and recalcitrant bureaucrats were summarily removed from their positions, humiliated and often kept waiting for months for alternative, usually inconsequential postings.8221; When Rajiv arrived on the scene, following Sanjay8217;s death, he was a contrast to Sanjay in demeanour and a radical visionary in many aspects, but whimsical and inexperienced in many others.

In the early 1980s he went to Andhra Pradesh as AICC general secretary and rebuked chief minister T. Anjiah in full public view. The incident became the single most important catalyst for the formation of the Telugu Desam Party by N.T. Rama Rao. Rajiv was accused of hurting Andhra pride.

Ideologically too, the Nehrus shifted towards the views of generation next. If Motilal the moderate was radicalised by Jawaharlal, the autocratic streak in Jawaharlal the democrat was touched off by Indira Gandhi. Indira even questioned the patriotic credentials of the Communists, before becoming their ideological co-traveller. Sanjay Gandhi brought about another turn in her political attitudes. Sanjay said in 1975 that the Left was 8216;anti-national,8217; and the public sector corrupt and inefficient and therefore must be privatised. Her Leftist friends complained to Indira, apparently to no avail.

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The similarities don8217;t end there. When Nehru became president of the Congress in 1929, he was 40. Indira became president of the Congress in 1959 at 41. Rajiv Gandhi became Congress president and prime minister at 40. If the next general elections were to happen only in 2009, Rahul will be 39 when he leads the party.

Each Nehru-Gandhi affected detachment from the enthroning of the descendant. 8220;Normally speaking it is not a good idea for my daughter to come in as Congress president when I am the prime minister,8221; Nehru had said. The same lines were echoed by Indira and Sonia as they groomed their children later on.

Rahul Gandhi has not spoken his mind on most issues. But some inferences can be drawn from his campaign speeches and interventions in parliamentary bodies. He believes education and health should be priority areas of government; he is not enthusiastic about caste reservations. Problematically for a politician, he is known to have strong likes and dislikes.

Sonia Gandhi has managed to hold the party together through a bad phase because the varied interest groups within trusted her as arbitrator. She listened to everyone and took decisions that everyone accepted.

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Gandhi had remarked, half-approvingly, that 8220;Motilal saw the world through the eyes of Jawaharlal.8221; The question is, what will Sonia do now that Rahul has joined the fray? Will she manage to mediate Rahul8217;s transition to supreme leadership of the party? Will she be able to synergise Rahul8217;s out-of-the box ideas with the harsh realities of Indian politics?