Sonia Gandhi was reigning as an unchallenged leader of India in her capacity of UPA Chairperson in 2004 and managed a win again in 2009, allying with Centre-Left forces. She led the party coalition and the National Advisory Council.
Sonia, due to failing health, stepped down as the president of the Congress party in 2017. She nominated her son, Rahul Gandhi, as the president of the party. Rahul could never meet his grandmother’s charisma, nor his mother’s manipulative skills. He was always a reluctant politician, pushed into the deep sea of Politics.
Rahul led the 2014 and 2019 polls, but his party became insignificant in size and lost even the ‘leader of the opposition’ status in the parliament. A characteristically dismissive and brooding Rahul threw in his towel, quitting the Presidentship of the party. The Congress party after a considerable journey in the dark wilderness fell back on Sonia Gandhi to save the situation and take over as the party chief.
Efforts to prop up the third Gandhi, Sonia’s daughter Priyanka Vadra, making her in charge of a part of Uttar Pradesh during the elections did not bear fruit. She has a millstone around her neck, her husband Robert Vadra, which will never let her grow beyond local politics level.
Under these circumstances, Sonia relented, albeit agreeing to take over as an interim president of the Indian National Congress on 10 August 2019, a term which expired two days ago. The party leaders now met and find no other face worthy of leading them other than the disinclined Rahul Gandhi and are egging him to take over yet again as their chief. The only thing commendable about Rahul was his quitting as the party president, taking the responsibility of the poll debacle and resolutely disregarding return as the president of the INC by his sycophant coterie.
Bringing Rahul could gladden the hearts of the BJP more than it would for Congressmen. The move will further reveal that the Congress party might survive only as long as the ‘family’ desires, and also at a void of quality leaders who could take over a family-free party. The move will not augur well for Indian democracy, which direly requires a worthy and strong opposition, to ensure good governance by any elected government.
Sonia Gandhi has had her resourceful innings right from Rajiv Gandhi’s prime ministerial days. Rahul too has had his bit of limelight, tearing up ordinance papers calling it a ‘nonsense’ shaming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the latter while abroad on an official visit in 2013. His winking in the parliament after hugging the Prime Minister or crying hoarse over Rafalè until severely reprimanded by the Supreme Court shows his consistent immaturity.
Congress leaders must introspect and prove their utility as their time is running out. More eligible will join Scindia’s route. Staying relevant as a political alternative is possible only by coming out of Gandhi family’s shadows right now.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
