Political Diary

New Delhi, 3 May 2014

Congress New Brahmastra ….

PRIYANKA, TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

By Poonam I Kaushish

Phew! Five-weeks in to the electoral slugfest with no respite from the hate vitriol which continues to get shriller and more odious. Put it down to fatigue or disillusionment with Parties, but suddenly there is spring in the comatose Congress. From Sonia Lao Desh Bachao of yesteryear to Priyanka Lao Desh Bachao. The future which so far looked desolate suddenly seems upbeat.

Move over shezada Rahul and Ma Sonia, behen-beti Priyanka has become the troubled Congress much-sought after star election campaigner wherein in the last 10 days she has not only usurped but also hogged media headlines relegating both BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Modi and AAP’s Kejriwal to the background.

Shedding her reticence finally, Priyanka who is campaign-in-charge of her mother Sonia’s Rae Bareli and brother’s Rahul’s Amethi Lok Sabha constituencies is leading the battle from the front. Unlike her yesteryear street corner-mohalla rallies, today her rallies are bigger with live TV coverage. 

In a series of aggressive comments she has not pulled back her punches on Modi and the BJP instead she has gone on the offensive over repeated attacks on husband Robert Vadra, “They are scrambling like panic-stricken rats. I know they will repeat their bunch of lies…I am not afraid of anyone, I will not remain quite and I am waiting for them to say more," she added.

Worse, she is repeatedly showing NaMo as “childish and immature” neither strong nor decisive who, instead of focusing on issues, resorts to abusing her brother, “Ek neta mere bhai ko kabhi namuna kehte hain, kabhi shehzada, kabhi mazaakiya kehte hain. Arey PM banne ki aas rakhte ho toh bachpane mein kyon padte ho? Pad ke garima ko samjoho”. Knowing full well that not only has she rattled Modi who has more to lose from her barbs and tactics than she does.

Moreover, she is not only aggressive but has broken convention and crossed the familial lakshman rekha by criticizing cousin Varun for “straying from the secular path.” Remember neither Sonia-Rahul nor Maneka-Varun have campaigned against each other.  

There is no gainsaying the Party has thrust the 42-two year old into the limelight after opinion polls showed the voter’s disenchantment with Rahul and the Congress heading for its most crushing defeat at the hands of arch rival BJP. In the hope that she would be able to revive a moribund Party and breathe life into it.

Raising a moot point: For how long can one bank on family background and sacrifices? Does Priyanka have the courage and where-with-all to fight against political odds and personal controversies ensnaring her husband Robert? Can she replicate her grandmother Indira’s sense of political timimg a la Belchi carnage riding on an elephant and élan, “Log kehtain hain Indira hatao main kehtein hoon desh bachao!” The jury is still out on that.

Undoubtedly Priyanka’s lineage is impeccable. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has provided three Prime Ministers, great grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru, grandmother Indira Gandhi and father Rajiv what to speak of mother Sonia as the “power behind the 10-year UPA throne” and Congress Party President

Besides, Priyanka who bears a striking resemblance to her grandmother is viewed by Congressmen as the best hope to revive the Party’s fortunes and be the torch -bearer for the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty following Rahul’s lacklustre campaign and failure to connect with voters.

Said a family retainer, “She is a born natural, has spontaneity and an ability to deliver a punch that has the crowds eating from hands, unlike Rahul who is sober bordering on being dubbed boring.”

It is no secret that over the years, time out of number Sonia has discounted Congressmen demand for Priyanka’s induction into the Party to lead from the front. The reason are not far to see. Her charismatic daughter not only has the political savvy, killer instinct but also grabs eyeballs and media headlines. And could politically give her rivals a run for their money.

Like Indira, she has the clarity and confidence, is lucid and easily ‘connects’ with the people having them eating out of her hands. Already, she has got under Modi’s skin by taunting him, “A 56-inch chest is not needed to run this country, a big heart is needed to run it,” she said.

What next, even as Congressmen hope Priyanka will finally don a greater political role immediately and lead from the front everything is up in the air. On her part, Priyanka has made plain she will listen to her inner voice and decide.

However, Sonia is caught between a rock and a hard place. If she brings Priyanka in to the Party as demanded by the rank and file it would tantamount to admitting that Rahul lacks the necessary qualities to lead the Party and is a flop as displayed in UPA’s 10-year stint. Thereby, undermining his ascent to the Nehru-Gandhi throne.

In fact, perhaps even eclipse and make her redundant. Succinctly asserted an old timer: Ek mayaan main doh talwarein nahin  rahe saktee hain. Priyanka is a sure winner.”

No matter what mother Sonia says or feels it is crystal clear that Priyanka has made a decisive move into active politics. She has been attending strategy meetings, helped select candidates and fine-tunes the entire campaign, repaired fault lines between Rahul’s young Turks and Congress veterans and got the Party to focus all its energies on simply doing well in the elections. Blurted an insider, “She is the war room. The Political Priyanka has arrived!”

On the other hand, even as the Party has reconciled to sitting in the Opposition, the Congress also needs to change the political discourse in its favour. Either which way, the Party needs to reinvent itself to deal with the post election debacle and challenges.

It could see the Congress metamorphise into a triumurti Sonia-Rahul-Priyanka. Congress insiders aver that given the strong bond between the brother and sister, Priyanka would leave no stone unturned to help Rahul but without overshadowing him. How can she admit they are failures?

But Priyanka is no Indira, or for that matter, no Sonia either who resurrected the Party’s fortunes. At least not yet. Her intellectual ability is untested. True, she has succeeded in the family pocket boroughs but they do not represent the whole of India.

Moreso, in the backdrop of her defending her husband’s controversial land deals and questionable ill-gotten wealth. Also, one can win elections by invoking the family name but for how many elections and how long?

In sum, Priyanka has a long way to go and is still to prove herself despite claims by senior Congress leaders. Clearly, until she takes charge and accepts responsibility, only then can one assess whether she has the traits of a leader who can resurrect the Party’s fortunes. Even as she represents a rainbow in the Congress distant horizon today she connotes an ephemeral reality: Too little too late!  ----INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)