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Sonia relents, returns to head Congress

George Iype in New Delhi

One week after she stepped down as Congress president, Sonia Gandhi decided to end the turmoil and theatrics in the party by taking back her resignation and resuming the leadership on Monday.

Gandhi made up her mind to withdraw the resignation forced by the attack on her by ousted rebels Sharad Pawar, Purno Sangma and Tariq Anwar hours before a specially convened All-India Congress Committee session was all set to request her to do so on Tuesday.

Overjoyed by her decision, Congress politicians and Gandhi loyalists said she would attend and chair the AICC session.

Gandhi had earlier refused to attend the session because of the "emotional distress" caused by the unexpected questioning of her Italian origin by the three high-profile rebels.

The high point of the AICC session now, to be attended by nearly 1,200 delegates and the 200-odd Congress members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, will be a unanimous resolution reposing faith in Gandhi as party president and prime ministerial candidate.

Though she was adamant over the last seven days that she would not continue as party president, of late Gandhi had given signals that she was not averse to return to the helm, for a number of reasons.

First, she knew the hunger strikes, protest marches and self-immolation dramas in front of her residence by Congress workers from across the country, pleading and begging her to resume the mantle of leadership, would result in chaos and turbulence in the party.

Second, by resigning in protest against the revolt by Pawar, Sangma and Anwar, she had seen over the past week how loyal, obedient and committed the party cadres were to her leadership, particularly to the idea of her prime ministerial candidature.

Third, Gandhi was convinced that a sizeable section of Congress politicians could switch over to the new party to be floated by Pawar & Company if she refused to lead them at this juncture.

But party sources said what compelled her to take charge promptly was the emergence of a bitter power struggle to seize the top post in the Congress between two senior politicians, Arjun Singh and Pranab Mukherjee.

While Singh, Gandhi's chief political adviser, was dreaming of becoming the party's "working president", senior working committee member Pranab Mukherjee was aspiring to be the "interim president".

Hence, when the party general secretaries met Gandhi on Monday evening to brief her about the AICC session and invite her to attend, she told them that "I do not want to let the party down".

Later, she told a stunned AICC top brass, "I am ready to continue as Congress president."

Gandhi's aides said her decision was born of her conviction that at this juncture there is no alternative to her leadership in the Congress.

"She decided to come back to lead us because she knew the Congress is on the verge of disintegrating without her leadership," close aide Ambika Soni told Rediff On The NeT.

She said, "No one has understood the feelings of ordinary Congress workers like Soniaji. The organisational structure of the Congress and its prospects in the forthcoming election would have been considerably damaged if she refused to return as party president."

Party leaders said the AICC session would now be an opportunity to display the party's total commitment towards and support for Gandhi and her candidature for the prime minister's post.

The AICC meeting that will endorse the apex Congress Working Committee's decision to expel Pawar, Sangma and Anwar will also be an occasion for a loyalty test.

Though most senior politicians have stood by Gandhi in her moments of turbulence after the ousted rebels questioned her Italian origin, Gandhi loyalists and the younger lot have chalked out a two-fold strategy to ensure that her leadership continues unobstructed and unopposed.

First, they want all the CWC members and AICC office-bearers, including the general secretaries, to resign to enable Gandhi to revamp the party set-up. "This is to ensure that Sonia's leadership of the party and her candidature as prime minister are not questioned in future," one AICC official said.

Second, for the past week Gandhi's supporters have been campaigning to pick up the silent dissenters in the party, especially within the CWC. In fact, her aides have prepared a list of these silent dissenters, prominent among them being Sitaram Kesri, P V Narasimha Rao, Rajesh Pilot, Jitendra Prasada and Ghulam Nabi Azad.

These senior politicians have been termed "potential supporters of the expelled leaders". Many believe the Sonia loyalists will create a scene against them at the Talkatora Stadium, venue of the AICC session.

Party workers at the AICC headquarters had heckled Kesri and nearly beaten up some other politicians during the CWC meeting on Thursday last at which Pawar and his friends were expelled.

Though these leaders are unlikely to thrown out now, the strategy is to ensure that they are effectively marginalised in the party.

EARLIER REPORTS:
Sonia agrees to withdraw her resignation
Sonia's 'hint' raises Congress hopes

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