Sonia, Sushma, secret mission and a filmstar

When Sonia was filing her nomination papers, power went off at Deputy Commissioner Raj Kamal’s office. The generators were hurriedly switched on. It rained heavily but thousands of people gathered outside the office to cheer: “Sonia, you contest from Bellary, we are with you”.

Sushma Swaraj who had arrived in Davanagere rushed to Bellary and filed her nomination papers soon after Sonia left.

Sonia and Sushma arrived in Bellary at 12.50 pm and 1 pm, respectively, but delayed their nominations because of rahu kalam‘ (between Noon to 1.30 pm). Sonia filed her nomination at 2.15 pm while Sushma filed her papers at 2.40 pm.

Sushma said she entered the fray “for a cause”. She said till midnight, she was not sure of contesting the election. “Only Tuesday midnight, I was told by the party high command to file the nomination from Bellary and I immediately rushed here,” she said.

She made it clear that it will be a fight between Swadeshi and Videshi’ and warned Sonia that Bellary will not be a safe seat.’ Earlier in the day, Sonia’s constituency remained a mystery shrouded in secrecy. Congress leaders kept up the suspense over Sonia’s choice of constituency till she landed in Bellary.

The drama started at 10.50 pm on Tuesday when Sonia landed in Hyderabad by a scheduled Indian Airlines flight from Delhi. Later, both PCC chief YS Rajasekhar Reddy and Ghulam Nabi Azad indicated that she was going to contest from Cuddapah.

The PCC president left for Cuddapah fuelling speculation that he was going to oversee the preparations. The reporters went back and filed stories — some said it would be Cuddapah, others betted on Bellary. When they came back this morning, Ghulam Nabi Azad told them at 10.45 am: “We are going to Cuddapah. Sonia would speak to you after we return.”

Is she not going to Bellary? Azad was asked. “Why should we come here to go to Bellary?” he said. Just before she left the guesthouse for the airport, a former Congress minister, Mohd Jani, came out and declared “It’s Cuddapah.”

By then, a battery of newsmen and photographers, officials and SPG personnel were waiting in Cuddapah for Sonia to arrive. But she did not.

But the unconfirmed report on her possible candidature from Cuddapah sparked off a flurry of activities in the rival BJP, TDP camps. Prime Minister Vajpayee and Home Minister Advani persuaded film star Vijayashanti to contest from Cuddapah. Even Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu agreed to the film heroine’s candidature.

Naidu, who was busy finalising candidates for the second phase of elections, received news that Sonia Gandhi was coming to the city on her way to Cuddapah. Immediately, Vajpayee contacted him over telephone to enquire about a suitable candidate for Cuddapah. Though the name of Rajya Sabha member Jayaprada figured in the discussion, finally the leaders agreed on Vijayashanti, who is considered more gutsy.

The Prime Minister rang up the actress in Chennai at 2.45 am and asked her to be ready to take on Sonia Gandhi. She was elated that both the BJP and TDP agreed on her. She has been sailing with the BJP for the past two years.

State BJP president Ch Vidyasagar Rao and other party leaders came to the Chief Minister’s residence in the morning. They decided to bring Vijayashanti to Cuddapah, in case Sonia Gandhi left for Cuddapah.

Naidu deputed three senior party leaders — Home Minister A Madhava Reddy, Rajya Sabha member C Ramachandraiah and former MP VS Rao — to bring the actress from Chennai and oversee arrangements for filing her nomination.

A private helicopter was kept ready for them at the airport. The three leaders reached the airport by 10 am before Sonia Gandhi arrived there to catch her aircraft. Till then the Congress president’s destination was kept a secret.

The three TDP leaders waited till Sonia Gandhi left from the airport and later enquired with the air traffic authorities about her destination. They were told that she was going to Bellary. That ended the agonising moments of the TDP leaders. Vijayashanti too was present. They were told that she was going to Bellary. That ended the speculation.