Sonia decides to be Oppn leader

The move also scotched speculation about a formal political role for Priyanka who is seen by Congressmen as the chief architect of Sonia’s spectacular victory from Amethi. Dis-spirited Congress circles had rested their hopes for the future on Sonia handing over the Amethi seat to Priyanka. But if the party had illusions of turning to the daughter after the mother failed to deliver, Sonia has made it clear that her children will remain on the fringes till she has consolidated herauthority.

Sources close to 10 Janpath in fact categorically ruled out Priyanka’s entry into the political arena at this juncture and indicated that even Rahul would stay away from politics for the time being. They emphasised that the children had stepped in during the elections only to help their mother.

Clearly, Sonia has no intention of backing down in the face of mounting criticism within the party. She also seems to have realised that she cannot continue as a backseat driver and has to come up front if she wants to wield authority over her restless partymen.

The decision to take on the role of Leader of the Opposition despite no parliamentary experience comes after a detailed sounding out exercise with newly elected Congress MPs and senior leaders over the past several days. Her stated disinclination to assume the high profile office had led to hectic lobbying between the old guard and “younger” leaders which threatened to create irreparable fissures. In a way, she has bought peace with thewarring factions by refraining from choosing one over the other.

While she may be on her way to tightening her grip over her party, Sonia’s biggest challenge as LOP will be her ability to coordinate with the rest of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. This could prove to be a problem as her main baiter, Mulayam Singh Yadav, now leads a 27-member strong contingent. Similarly, although she enjoys a rapport with Kanshi Ram, she has had little contact with Mayawati who heads the 13-member BSP in the Lok Sabha.

At the same time, she will have to strike the right balance between leading a “responsible opposition” which is committed to a similar economic agenda as the Vajpayee Government and defining her right to occupy the opposition space in the face of stiff challenge from the Left Parties and her smaller rivals like the Samajwadi Party and BSP.

She will obviously need a good deputy and an indication of the kind of role she intends to play in the coming months will come from her choice of her number two.Madhavrao Scindia’s name tops the list of possible nominees, largely because of his long years in Parliament and the rapport he enjoys with the other opposition parties including the Left and the SP.

Sonia is expected to announce the names of her deputy and the party’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha in the next couple of days. Manmohan Singh will remain the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. He had resigned after losing the South Delhi seat but Congress sources said his resignation has not been accepted by Sonia.