HVK Archives: Enter Sonia exit glasnost
Enter Sonia exit glasnost - The Times of India
Vidhya Subrahmaniam
()
21 May 1997
Title : Enter Sonia exit glasnost
Author : Vidhya Subrahmaniam
Publication : The Times of India
Date : May 21, 1997
Six years after it passed into the hands of a 'commoner', it is back to the Gandhi
family fold for the Congress and back to singing "ours is not to reason why, ours
is but to do and die" for Congressmen. The lull immediately following Mrs Sonia
Gandhi's induction as primary member has predictably proved deceptive and the
faithful are banding together across the country, pledging to be led by her and
only by her.
Technically, neither her decision nor its herd-like endorsement by Congressmen can
be faulted. The rules of democracy are such that even a dynastic successor must
win popular support. Mrs Sonia Gandhi's abilities will eventually be tested at the
hustings and, indeed, the almost involuntary 'hail Sonia' chorus is owing at least
in part to her perceived appeal with the voters. She will also unite the party as
only she can : Whatever faction they belong to, Congressmen can be counted on to
be more loyal to her than to their factional leader.
Italian Ancestry
Nevertheless, her political debut must be questioned, though not for reasons of
her Italian ancestry. For, however much the Congress's bankruptcy on that score
rankles, that would be inverse racism. Her entry is disturbing mainly for its
potential to quash the internal democracy that was just about beginning to take
root in the Congress, its outward obsession with consensus notwithstanding.
Indeed, if Congress-watching has become riveting in recent years, it is precisely
because of this promising new trend; the fact that a certain irreverence was
slowly coming to be seen in the attitude of the subordinates.
Lately, we have seen Congressmen look almost normal, even celebratory, as they
flexed their muscles, displayed ambition and on the odd occasion actually dared
their leader in public. None of this is conceivable under Sonia whose presence
would make it sacrilegious for Congressmen even to be conscious of themselves,
much less show spine. Forget getting together to oust an incumbent as they did
with Mr P V Narasimha Rao or publicly airing their resentment as they did in the
uncertain interim after Mr Deve Gowda's fall, Congressmen wouldn't be caught dead
uttering anything that wasn't in obvious praise of the lady.
The tendency to fall in line is almost instinctive with the average partyman.
Nevertheless, we have had glimpses of courage these past years, a Rajesh Pilot
here, an A R Antulay there and a Jagannath Misra else where revealing the kind of
rare spunk that augurs well for the flowering of internal democracy. A role for
Sonia in whichever capacity will stifle this fledgling process as she will
inevitably act as final arbiter. Officially Mr Sitaram Kesri may be president to
Sonia's primary member, but even he must affect the most abject servility in
public or risk condemnation. Indeed, his horrified "Who am 1 to offer her any
post?" reaction must be taken as a harbinger of the "I don't think, therefore I'm"
state that awaits Congressman in the new dispensation.
And yet, even enforced unity may not work in a situation where Sonia's saleability
is not proven. To understand why Sonia need not be synonymous with victory, it
must first be understood that the downturn in the Congress's fortunes began in the
last years of Indira Gandhi's rule and not after Rajiv Gandhi's death as seems to
be the common impression. If an ideological wavering was evident in Indira
Gandhi's handling of Sikh extremism, more flip- flop was to follow in her son's
tenure beginning with the unlocking of the Babri Masjid doors. It was Rajiv
Gandhi's on-again, off-again courting of Hindu and Muslim vote banks rather than
Mr Narasimha Rao's appeasement of the BJP in later years which led to the dilution
of the Congress's once cohesive ideology, the loss of its electorally unbeatable
catch-all base and its banishment to the opposition benches a mere one term after
coming to power in 1984 with a record-breaking mandate.
Caste & Religion
Even in 1991, the Congress was unlikely to have returned under Rajiv Gandhi as can
be seen from the dramatic ten percentage point difference - from 31.6 to 41 per
cent - between the pre and post assassination phases of election results. Since
then the Congress has lost one more general election, while its vote percentage
has touched a new low. Sonia's leadership may help to offset the vote division on
account of dissidence, but she has, on the other hand, to reckon with growing
caste and religious consciousness among voters because of which votes now tend to
crystallise around caste and religion-specific parties. If the new dalit
consciousness can be seen from the departure of an old Congress hand like Arvind
Netam, the BJP has emerged as the new destination for the upper castes. Add to
this the expanding list of Congress leaders who, having tasted freedom, might want
more of it, and Sonia doesn't necessarily spell success.
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