The election of Sitaram Kesri as president of the Congress was a foregone conclusion when he decided to join the fray for the top party post. If the counting of votes on Thursday merits attention, it is only to ascertain the exact margin with which he trounced his rivals. The confidence with which Kesri faced the poll was apparent from his pre-poll assertion that since he stood firm on terra firma, there was no need for him to hire an aircraft like Sharad Pawar and go hopping from one state capital to another in search of votes. After all, his long association with the Congress as an apparatchik in the classical mould must have taught him that a challenger to the incumbent president faced the risk of ignominy. In other words, his impending victory has little to do with his own capabilities. His task was made easier by the candidature of Rajesh Pilot, who was seen more as a spoiler than as a serious claimant, and Sharad Pawar, whose writ does not run even in the Mumbai Congress as can be gauged from the return of Murli Deora as the MRCC chief. It was Advantage Kesri right from the beginning.Though the election was forced on the Congress by the Election Commission, it has done the party immense good. Given the stakes involved, allegations and counter-allegations about electoral malpractices could not altogether be ruled out. Even so, situations like the one in Kerala where only three Congressmen were eligible to vote from out of a total of 300 could not have but shown the organisation in poor light. There can be no disputing that the election has activated the organisation, the credit for which should primarily go to Pilot. But for his candidature which, in turn, encouraged Pawar also to enter the contest, the Congress would have chosen the consensus route. Although consensus per se is not anti-democratic, it has, over the years, been reduced to a tool to smother dissent in the organisation. Now that the democratic process has been set in motion, Congressmen will naturally expect greater transparency in the functioning of the party. Much will, of course, depend upon how Kesri functions. He can either devote himself to rejuvenating the party or rest on his laurels.The victory will lend Kesri's presidency considerable clout as he is the first president to be elected through the ballot in about 35 years. This is no mean achievement for someone who was commonly perceived as a stop-gap, lame duck president. Naturally enough, this will have profound implications for the party and the United Front Government, which it supports from outside. That Kesri has a mind of his own was apparent when he unilaterally decided to withdraw support to the Deve Gowda Government. He might have eaten humble pie but it was enough of an indication that he would like to try his hand at forming a government of his own. Since he cannot afford to wait till the next election is due, Kesri is in a now-or-never situation. Therefore, the new status he has gained cannot but cause consternation to the UF. That he might not be able to muster majority support is the only redeeming thought for the United Front. Given his performance, this might be an underestimation of Sitaram Kesri.
