In an obvious attempt to divert attention from the crucial issues, raised ahead of a Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday, by some of her senior party colleagues, interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi has offered to step down. The CWC meeting may now end up persuading Sonia Gandhi to continue, instead of focusing on the need to overhaul the organisation, to meet the growing challenges in the country. Familiar with the ways and methods in her party, Sonia has resorted to the resignation card the second time over; the first being when Sharad Pawar, P.A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar had questioned her foreign origin. Pawar and company had to leave the Congress, while Sonia returned to her post, stronger and on her own terms. Her latest move will also lead to an orchestrated chorus urging her to continue in office. It could also result in the CWC, if it is held (it can be postponed as well), to authorise her to choose an interim president to succeed her. If she exercises that option, owing to her poor health, she may end up picking an ineffective replacement such as Manmohan Singh or A.K. Antony. Both the senior leaders, however, would not be able to strengthen the party in any manner and their appointment could provide a handle to the BJP of accusing the Congress of being anti-Hindu, given their religious faith.
Sonia is astute and knows that the letter written by senior Congress leaders, including former Chief Ministers and members of the UPA government, not only directly questions the capacity of Rahul Gandhi to lead the party, but also raises doubts over her effectiveness. Her desire is that Rahul should be reinstated, but that appears to be most improbable since there is a virtual revolt against his style of functioning. The letter by seniors has, without naming Rahul, criticised the exercise of holding elections in the frontal organisations such as NSUI and Youth Congress. The underlying belief is that if elections needed to be held, they should be to elect members of the CWC; the present ones are viewed as well past their prime and redundant. Several senior leaders have also indicated that the Parliamentary Board should be revived so that collective decisions on key matters can be taken. At present, all powers are vested in Sonia.
The timing of sending the letter by seniors has also not gone down well with her. The irony is that some of the party colleagues, who have signed the communication, can settle down for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, much against her mother’s wishes. Ideally speaking, the party needs a non-Gandhi as the party chief and under the circumstances, only two persons — Kamal Nath and Bhupinder Singh Hooda — measure up to the job. Nath is well versed with the party dynamics and has electoral winning experience, while Hooda is a mass leader whose commitment to the Congress is second to none. If the drift is not arrested immediately, the party may head for yet another split.
