Sonia Gandhi looks for political aide and Pradhan may fit the bill

Pradhan, a bureaucrat, has been assisting Gandhi in these matters, including issues related to the coming elections. Thus, the de facto position he has enjoyed so far may well be de jure after the November elections.

Pradhan’s rise shows that Gandhi is on the lookout for a person she can trust; one who does not have a political agenda of his own, who will be a coordinator between her and Congress Working Committee members, and a buffer she can rely on for political missions without coming up front herself. This will allow her greater flexibility and manouevrability with those she has to deal with.

Gandhi is understood to have already asked Pradhan to reorganise the setup at the All IndiaCongress Committee headquarters. He has made a beginning by reordering the media wing of the party and appointing former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil to head the department. A control room, open 24 hours, is expected to become operational at the AICC headquarters soon.

Before Pradhan, P N Haksar,

Rao Saheb and P C Alexander have played similar roles. They were all principal secretaries to Indira Gandhi when she was prime minister at various times, and looked after the administrative and political fronts.

It was Haksar who had called on Sheikh Abdullah when the Kashmir leader was in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the early 1970s and initiated the process which led to the famous Indira-Abdullah meeting. Haksar was reported to have given ideological inputs to the late prime minister which led to the nationalisation of banks and the abolition of privy purses which helped Gandhi acquire a pro-poor image and deal with the syndicate of party bosses.

Haskar, who is old and ailing,was an institution by himself. Similarly, Alexander also played a political role, and was known to help her with tasks such as the formation of the Cabinet, which he continued to do till P V Narasimha Rao’s time. Rao’s first Cabinet was Alexander’s handiwork.

Pradhan has enjoyed the confidence of the Gandhi family since the days of Rajiv Gandhi, having been his Home secretary. He was instrumental in brokering the Assam Accord, which was announced on Independence Day by Rajiv Gandhi a few weeks before Pradhan retired. He was sent by the late prime minister to the North-East as governor and looked after the party’s publicity in the 1991 general elections. Narasimha Rao sent Pradhan as a member of the Legislative Council in Maharashtra.

When Sonia Gandhi nominated him for the Rajya Sabha elections last July, the plan was to make him chief executive officer in the Congress President’s office but his defeat created counter-pressure in the party and the idea had to be abandoned then. Gandhi, however, hasapparently not given up the plan.

Pradhan’s elevation, if it takes place, could abridge some of the powers enjoyed by Gandhi’s private secretary Vincent George, who looks after her affairs at 10, Janpath.

Though Margaret Alva is designated coordinator at the Congress President’s AICC office, she essentially looks after grievances.

Of late, there have been complaints that George has denied access to some Congressmen to meet the party chief. Partymen cite an incident of Satish Sharma’s car being denied entry into 10, Janpath, and he is reported to have complained to Gandhi’s daughter Priyanka Vadra.

George, who has served the Gandhi family faithfully for over 20 years, has emerged powerful ever since Sonia took over as party president. Because of his position, virtually everything to do with her has had to go through him, as he deals with her appointments, facsimile messages and the hundreds of ticket aspirants who want to see her.

His proximity to Arjun Singh, which is no secret, is seen by some asthe reason they are denied access to the Congress chief.

But Pradhan’s rise is also a manifestation of the attempt by Gandhi to evolve her own team, give the party a broad base and earmark responsibilities clearly.

This is evident in the way she has constituted the screening committees to select the candidates for the party — which will, in the final analysis, be a test of her leadership.