Making the right moves

Published : Dec 06, 2002 00:00 IST

At the Congress(I) Chief Ministers' conclave in Rajasthan, party president Sonia Gandhi appears to have worked out a strategy to take on the National Democratic Alliance in the next elections.

BOLSTERED by the success of the Congress(I) in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections and hopes of a good performance by the party in Gujarat, party president Sonia Gandhi seems all set to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre. At the party's Mount Abu conclave, Sonia Gandhi gave a clarion call to her partymen to be ready to rule at the Centre. The conclave, which was held to review the performance of the governments of the 14 Congress(I)-ruled States, ended up as an exercise in introspection and in planning how the party could replace the NDA government at the Centre by demonstrating its commitment "to revive economic growth, foster social peace and enhance the stature of India in the world", especially at a time when the "country has seen through the hollow claims being made by the BJP-led coalition, which has been a comprehensive failure". Sonia Gandhi declared that the country was now looking up to the Congress(I) "to provide a government that will govern and lead an administration that will administer".

In her presidential address on November 8, Sonia Gandhi advised partymen to gear up to face the general elections. "Elections at the national level are another two years away. Meanwhile we have to consolidate, retaining power in the States where we are in office and ousting the BJP and its regional allies in States where we are in the Opposition," she told Chief Ministers and other Congress(I) leaders who had gathered at the two-day conclave. She reminded Congressmen that the people of India were fed up with the BJP-led NDA government, and were "looking to us to take the country from stagnation to growth, from strife to harmony and from darkness to light. Let us all strive to fulfil what is expected of us."

The Congress party has been holding chief mininsterial conclaves in order to drive home the point that it is the only party that can provide effective governance. The Mount Abu conclave was the fourth in the series. The previous one was held in Guwahati in April.

The conclave provided Sonia Gandhi an opportunity to highlight the performance of Congress(I) governments. It also afforded her a platform from which to launch an attack on the Centre, which she accused of meting out stepmotherly treatment to Congress-ruled States. Taking credit for everything that was good in the States ruled by the Congress(I) and holding the Centre responsible for everything that had gone wrong, she said: "This meeting of the council of Chief Ministers is primarily about exchanging views with the Chief Ministers, especially about how well they are implementing the programmes, and the difficulties faced by them in terms of support from the Centre". Rajasthan, which had been reeling under a drought for the past four years, had been given only two lakh tonnes of foodgrains against its request for 56 lakh tonnes, she said. This, she said, was in contrast to the generous help that the Centre had given States like Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. "We intend to raise the issue of this stepmotherly treatment in Parliament," she said, making clear her intention to keep the charge of discrimination alive.

Sonia Gandhi is aware that at a time when NDA government at the Centre seemed to be on shaky ground, the Congress(I) can claim to be the successor only if it provided ample evidence of being good at governance. She said that although the Congress(I) was not in power at the Centre, "the fact that we are in so many States gives us a unique opportunity to show how fundamentally different we are from our political opponents, when it comes to priorities, policies, programmes, projects and procedures." She reminded the Chief Ministers that "much more needs to be done and can be done so that there is a visible and tangible improvement in the lives of all people, more specifically of the weaker sections of society - Dalits, Adivasis, religious minorities, backward classes and women."

It seems that the Congress(I) is now striving to show that it is a "party with a difference", a la the BJP of the last two decades. Amidst the communal rhetoric in Gujarat and the political one-upmanship in Uttar Pradesh, Sonia Gandhi chose to keep governance, welfare of the downtrodden and economic progress in the focus. Emphasising the fact that there can be no prosperity without peace, she said: "The enterprising people of Gujarat have made the State an economic success story. That economic success can be sustained only if bigotry is defeated." In her message to the people of Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi appealed to the sense of entrepreneurship that is present in every Gujarati.

At the press conference on November 9, the concluding day of the conclave, she expressed satisfaction at the performance of her party since she assumed its presidentship. However, she admitted that "a lot more needs to be done, lot more effort needs to be put." In what seemed to be the strategy that is likely to be adopted by the Congress(I) in future, Sonia Gandhi declared that although ideally the party would like to assume power on its own, coalitions could not be ruled out. When asked whether the party was against coalitions at the Centre, she said: "We have no closed mind on working with like-minded parties in order to defeat communal forces." The change in strategy seems to have been brought about by the realisation that in States such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, the party's base was weak. Sonia Gandhi admitted that the weakness in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar needed to be discussed in detail. This indicates that the Congress(I) is all set to follow the Jammu and Kashmir pattern when it comes to governance at the Centre. The strategy seems to be to go to the polls alone and enter into alliances only in States such as Bihar, where an alliance already exists. At the most the party would enter into seat adjustments to try and get a majority. If the majority figure eludes the party, then it would try and forge alliances to form the government, as was done in Jammu and Kashmir.

As for Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi said that possibilities of electoral alliances were being explored by the general secretary in charge of the State and the State Congress president. The Congress(I) president is aware that the outcome of the Gujarat elections will leave its impact beyond the boundaries of the State. She admitted that "defeating communal forces" was the primary agenda of the party in Gujarat. "Our message to the people of Gujarat is that there can be no prosperity without peace," she said, adding, "We are going to the people of Gujarat with one overriding message, the message of religious tolerance and understanding, of social reconciliation and amity."

In terms of political strategy, there was a clear message from Mount Abu, but the ambiguity with regard to the party's prime ministerial candidate continues. When asked how close she saw herself to the Prime Minister's post, Sonia Gandhi chose to leave the issue open-ended. It is certain that at the time of the general elections the issue of Sonia Gandhi's Italian origins would haunt the party. The BJP and its allies would try and make the most of it, as is already being seen in Narendra Modi's election campaign in Gujarat. But instead of clarifying the party's stand on this sensitive issue, Sonia Gandhi skirted it by saying that "this is not the forum to discuss it." She also left hanging the question of the possible entry of her children into politics. She merely said that both her children were mature adults and had the freedom to make their own choices. The ambiguity is perhaps part of a strategy to surprise the party's adversaries when the time comes.

Sonia Gandhi has demonstrated her ability to evolve a political strategy that is independent of past precedents. As part of a programme called Samvaad, she travels all over Uttar Pradesh and interacts with party workers at the block and district levels. This is a novel idea that can infuse new life into the moribund party apparatus in the State. Her idea of inviting experts in the fields of agriculture, administration, infrastructure, law and order and security to the Mount Abu conclave in order to interact with the Chief Ministers shows that she is concerned about delivering results. She asked the Chief Ministers to present Action Taken Reports on the nine points of the agenda of governance that was given to them at the Guwahati conclave.

The BJP had better be on guard, as the Congress president seems to be making all the right moves.

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