Cong reflects on Sonia legacy as Rahul takes charge on Dec 16

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 10

As Rahul Gandhi prepares to take charge of the Congress on December 16, veterans look back at the legacy of incumbent chief Sonia Gandhi with nostalgia and awe.

For Sonia Gandhi, who turned 71 yesterday, the journey as the longest serving Congress president — for 19 years — has not been easy. But party veterans say her stint, since her election as party chief on April 6, 1998, to the likely exit on December 16, has been “exceptional” despite personal and professional odds.

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Former President Pranab Mukherjee, the veteran Congress man who worked with former PMs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, sums up Sonia Gandhi’s legacy in his memoir, “The Coalition Years”. “I believe that detachment and her decision of not being aligned with anybody in particular is her greatest strength,” he writes in the context of his relationship with Sonia Gandhi which, he confesses, began with a degree of detachment and transformed into warmth and mutual respect. He also says Sonia Gandhi took after her late husband and mother-in-law with ease and like them “adopted a truly pan-Indian approach”. “Her ability to reach out to the masses and their acceptance of her….was the single most important qualifying factor for her to be the PM,” Mukherjee writes.

But deeply aware her limitations, she never consented to be the PM when the Congress emerged the single largest party in 2004. Her colleagues still speak with awe of her resoluteness in choosing Manmohan Singh as the PM candidate.

Former Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar says, “She has an unshakeable resolve and never changes her mind once she has decided to do something. But she reflects a great deal before taking a decision. I was among the last people to see her the day she named Manmohan Singh as PM. We were  persuading her to change her mind. But all she said: ‘I will not change my mind, this is the voice of my conscience’.”

When it comes to Sonia Gandhi’s abiding legacy, all Congress leaders are unanimous. “It’s a united party,” they say. Ashwani Kumar notes, “Sonia Gandhi kept the party united, rejected ideological extremes in favour of a moderate centre and always endeavoured for the broader consensus on issues. Her presidency will be remembered for her astute understanding of men and matters though I wish she had groomed five to 10 leaders in every state.”

Gandhi’s deep understanding of the country’s nuanced regional politics has equally surprised leaders. Former minister KC Deo says, “She remembers everyone by names and has thorough knowledge of regions. She picked up the threads of Indian politics fast and gave us two governments.”

Kumari Selja feels Sonia Gandhi’s resoluteness is her greatest asset. “She took her time to accept the Congress presidency. But once there, she never rested on that position. She worked hard, pushing her personal and professional limits and delivered two victories for the Congress. At times she was in fact too much of a democrat,” she said.

Gandhi’s passion to promote women in politics is also legendary. Kiran Choudhry, Congress Legislature Party Leader of Haryana, remembers how she became the Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly under then CM Sheila Dikshit, thanks to Sonia Gandhi. “Soniaji later sent me to Haryana and gave me ministerial portfolios such as revenue and taxation which women would not get those days. She promoted women in politics and gave the Congress its gendered look,” she says.

Overall Congress men feel Sonia Gandhi retreated from active role gradually to let son Rahul take major decisions. Since she dislocated her arm while in Varanasi on election trail on the eve of UP polls, Sonia Gandhi has not campaigned for the party. She still commands absolute loyalty. Ashwani Kumar notes, “Rahul Gandhi has the huge advantage of the steadfast loyalty of the Congress to his mother. His challenge is to build on the edifice of that loyalty.”