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The aggressive streak exhibited by
Sonia Gandhi first in parliament following L.K. Advani's
description of the government as "illegitimate", which he later
withdrew, and then during her address to Congress MPs, is a sign
of the need for boosting the morale of a seemingly unstable party.
Since offence is often the best form of defence, the Congress
president has apparently realised that a dose of adrenaline is
what the party requires. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, too, has
taken up the cudgels for once, as is evident from his assertion to
media persons while returning from Teheran that there is no
question of his resigning and that the opposition BJP was negating
democracy by blocking parliament's functioning. The belligerence
is undoubtedly a much-needed recipe, considering how the Congress
has been under attack for more than a year.
First, there was the surfacing of various scandals, real or
perceived, involving mobile phone licenses, the hosting of the
Commonwealth Games and the award of coal mininig rights. But the
Congress' response has not been sufficiently robust till now,
probably because corruption, the party's perennial weak spot, is
the central issue in all these scandals. However, Sonia Gandhi's
stance does indicate that she is dissatisfied with the
government's and the party's efforts to counter the charges
against them.
Since various state elections and the crucial general election of
2014 are looming ahead, she has probably realised that there is
not a moment to lose for rescuing the Congress from its present
predicament when its chances of success appear to be bleak.
Her initiative might have been prompted by Rahul Gandhi's failure
to make a notable impression on the political scene. What is more,
the heir-apparent seems to have disappeared backstage following
the Congress's lacklustre performance in the Uttar Pradesh
elections despite his energetic campaigning.
It might, however, be asked whether Sonia Gandhi's decision to
carry the fight into the opposition camp has come rather late in
the day. Even now, she is apparently depending more on the party's
spokespersons to take a combative position rather than fully
assuming the task herself - or asking Rahul to do so.
Apart from her cutting observation that "blackmail" was the
Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) "bread and butter" in the context
of the latter's stalling of parliament on coalgate, she has
apparently left it mainly to the party members to carry on with
the offensive. She however cannot be unaware of the fact that even
the articulateness of P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Ambika Soni
at a joint press conference is not always convincing enough to
deflect criticism.
Arguably, the party and the government would have been able to
make a better impact if the prime minister had been more
forthcoming. But, that is not his style, as his observation that
he has to maintain the dignity of his office shows. As a result,
with both the present prime minister and a possible future one -
Rahul Gandhi - playing, in the main, a low-key role, the Congress
continues to give the impression of being on the back foot. This
is the time, therefore, for Sonia Gandhi to be more of a hands-on
leader, as in the run-up to the 2004 elections when her popularity
ratings were always high and only a few points behind Atal Behari
Vajpayee.
But, whether because she is no longer as fit as she was eight
years ago or because she does not want to overshadow Rahul, she is
still not as much in the forefront as she might have been. Such
reluctance or diffidence will not serve the party well at a time
of hyperactive television channels and when the opposition has
smelt blood.
Fortunately for the Congress, the opposition remains a house
divided and its tactics, too, show signs of desperation. While the
BJP has courted "majestic isolation", to quote its leader, Arun
Jaitley, on the issue of stalling parliament, which has little
support outside the party, the attempt of some of the others like
the two former allies, the Left and the Samajwadi Party, to revive
the old Third Front has limited chances of success because the
Samajwadi Party is unlikely to ditch the Congress.
Even within the BJP, the constant disruption of the parliamentary
proceedings is evidently a game of one-upmanship being played by
Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and perhaps also Advani in the context of
their prime ministerial ambitions. As for the fourth aspirant,
Narendra Modi, the latest Supreme Court verdict on the Naroda
Patiya massacre during the Gujarat riots of 2002 has dented his
image yet again.
But the Congress is not yet out of the woods even if conventional
wisdom and poll predictions point to a drop in its tally of Lok
Sabha seats. However, it will take more than verbal belligerence
to revive the party's fortunes. Only a purposeful pursuit of
economic reforms can do the trick.
Amulya Ganguli is a
political analyst. He can be reached at amulyaganguli@gmail.com
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