Dynasty lives on

The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 by an LTTE suicide bomber was the second tragedy to strike the Nehru-Indira Gandhi family within a decade. Succession was a seamless affair after the assassination of Indira Gandhi as the Congress had set great store by dynastic charisma after squandering the mass goodwill it had inherited from the freedom movement. Sonia's entry into politics after her husband's shocking end was greeted with a campaign against her Italian origins. But her stock went up following her refusal to yield to sycophantic entreaties to take power in 2004 after the party's victory. Now there is another election victory, and enter Rahul Gandhi.