Party, president, PM

Time that Sonia shows her support for PM. Otherwise, it will cost both equally

Totally baseless and utter nonsense: those were the words the PM8217;s press advisor used to deny rumours of Manmohan Singh8217;s resignation. The same words can be employed for much of what the Congress has been saying about its own government. In fact, whatever was the immediate provocation for rumour mills to start churning on Friday, the general context was provided by Congressmen who, for example, a few days ago turned what should have been a regulation meeting on price rise into a party versus government tussle. But, and this is a question that will not go away simply because

Sonia Gandhi met Manmohan Singh before the weekly UPA meeting, what precisely has the Congress president done recently to strengthen the hands of the prime minister she chose herself?

This question survives even if one were to accept the slightly unlikely hypothesis that Sonia Gandhi is in complete agreement with Dr Singh over all the economic policies that have caused the Congress heartburn. In politics, sometimes it is not enough to know yourself that you have faith in your nominee 8212; others must get to know what you know. There really hasn8217;t been any perceptible effort on the part of 10 Janpath to communicate to the party that it stands four square behind the prime minister. True, there hasn8217;t been any discernible effort to establish a growing divide with Dr Singh either. Had there been, for sure some Congressmen would be saying things on record that they now say only when tape recorders are switched off. But given the current political context, what the PM needs is an unmistakable sign that he enjoys Mrs Gandhi8217;s confidence.

The consequences of having a PM who appears to everyone as losing bits of elbowroom over every other issue will also affect Sonia Gandhi. No matter what some Congress courtiers may be saying, Dr Singh8217;s prime ministership will become a true liability only when it is seen to have lost most of the symbols and substance of authority. That is when questions will be raised why Sonia Gandhi didn8217;t back a man she picked over the ambitions of many wily old Congressmen. That is when those wily old Congressmen would claim a victory of sorts. That is when Sonia Gandhi would be seen to have conceded ground to the very forces in the party she doubtless had in mind when she picked Dr Singh as prime minister.