“It’s something I’ve been waiting for years.” This was the reaction of Sonia Gandhi on the day of voting for the Presidential election of Congress. In 22 years, for the first time since 1998, a non-Gandhi will become the party president. But the question is whether the Congress can ever be Gandhi-mukt. Can the party that has evolved and revolved around the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty cut its navel away from the Gandhi family?
The last time it was tried, it had little success. It was in 2004 when Congress surprised many by winning the elections. Since Sonia Gandhi formed the UPA and formed an alliance, it was assumed that she would be the Prime Minister. But when Sonia Gandhi said during a packed Congress Parliamentary Party meeting that she was “listening to her inner voice and saying no to becoming PM”, some tears were shed. Some for real and some for show. Then the race to find the right PM started. Sonia Gandhi’s choice fell on low-profile, respected Dr. Manmohan Singh. This stunned many in the party, some who were quietly hoping to become PM. One of them was certainly the late Pranab Mukherjee who got the tag of “Eternal Prime Minister in Waiting”.
But those who could not accept the “apolitical” Manmohan Singh as PM – many in the cabinet could not digest the fact that his contemporaries would be his boss – devised a plan. He told Sonia Gandhi, “We need your guidance. You formed the UPA, your ideas brought many parties like DMK and TRS with us, so we need your support so that the government can function. This is when the NAC or National Advisory Council was born. Its office was right in front of Sonia’s 10 Janpath residence and many suggestions and “suggestions” started going to 7 RCR, as it was then called. For example, in 2006 when the economist PM felt that oil prices should not be reduced, the NAC felt otherwise. The PM objected to where the budget for the ambitious food security bill would come from, but the Gandhi family insisted on it. The tearing down of an ordinance by Rahul Gandhi that barred criminals from contesting elections was an example of shots at the Gandhi family. So the UPA gave the impression of being run from 10 Janpath and later 12 Tughlaq Lane. It was called “Remote Control Ki Sarkar” and the tag proved to be its undoing.
Current time cut. While Mallikarjun Kharge sees an edge, he has already seen the future. It is therefore not surprising that he said, “I have no hesitation in seeking the help and advice of the Gandhi family.” Kharge is an old savior of Congress. Like most people, he is aware of the Sitaram Kesari episode, where a small group of “loyalists” had emerged and pushed Sonia Gandhi into active politics in the name of protecting the party. The real reason was to keep myself relevant.
The reality is that Congress has a crab mentality. One person gets up, and the other prepares to drag him down. And in such a situation, it is quite possible that Kharge may soon face opposition and scrutiny from some who are now pitching for him. In the event of Shashi Tharoor being the president, the downfall from grace would probably be quick.
So despite the fact that Sonia Gandhi is happy to leave the seat, Rahul Gandhi wants to focus on the Bharat Jodi Yatra and being the only party worker, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wants to look after Uttar Pradesh, do some campaigning. In many, the party would like to keep the Gandhi family relevant as it would keep them relevant. The question is, how long will the honeymoon period last? As a top source put it, “Sonia Gandhi is the UPA president and parliamentary party leader. That means she is very much around.”
Gandhi Parivar Mukt Congress is far from reality.
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