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Sonia's choice

Political parties are, by their very nature, democratic versions of an army. Just as the armed forces need constant updating and modernisation to keep pace with their adversaries, so do political parties. A party with no planning, no scope for change, a party that clings to age-old shibboleths and out-of-turn mascots, is destined to die at the hustings.

In another sense, political parties are also like publications. Just as the latter need to know their readers, their likes and dislikes, so do political parties need to know their constituents. If they can't provide what the voter wants from them, then it follows just as flight follows takeoff that the supporters will look for those who can fulfil their aspirations.

In both the above scenarios, the interesting part is that information plays a vital role. Whether the army or publications, information and feedback are crucial to their existence, even if the means of collecting the same might vary depending on the situation.

The reasoning behind such a roundabout beginning is to bring into focus the Congress party, which had lost its way more than a decade ago and is still floundering in the woods, unable to find a way out. Bringing it out safe will be both Sonia Gandhi's biggest challenge as well as worst nightmare. Is she up to the task? Frankly, judging by the kind of leadership stimuli she has so far provided the party she heads, the answer is a resounding 'no'.

There have been a measly few times, of course, that she has conveyed the impression that she may actually deliver the goods, but that, it is clear in retrospect, has been more due to the mistakes committed by her adversary than any smart move on her part.

A party that has allowed the political idiom to be grabbed from right under its nose, that too at a time when it was the dominant force on the national scene, today has little clue about measuring up to the current idiom. And therein lies the Congress party's dilemma.

The recent round of Congress party elections may give the impression that Sonia's acceptance as party president, and therefore as the party's preferred choice for the prime ministership as and when the time arises, is unchallenged.

Unfortunately for the party, gone are the days when the rest of the country thought today what the Congress thought yesterday. Sonia is saddled with a huge credibility factor, and as of now she, with her status quo-ism, has become the albatross around her party's neck.

This is not to say that Jitendra Prasada, the contender for the top post, would have rescued the party from the abyss ahead had he won the party polls. Hardly. But Prasada, even in his rout, has shown the world, if not the country, the hollowness of the Congress party's claims to inner-party democracy, and its lack of commitment to this article of faith.

After all, the question remains: what kind of commitment can a party that has utter disregard for internal democracy have for the voters at large? In the Congress's case, the question assumes a more sinister ring, given the fact that it is the only party since Independence that had suspended fundamental rights.

However, democracy, or the lack of it either inside or outside the party, is the least of Sonia Gandhi's woes. The hordes of bovine partymen who queued up outside 10 Janpath may convey to her the impression that she is indispensable, but that would be the perception through a narrow tunnel vision. The timbre in the party's leadership is about to be sorely tested on the battlefields of Uttar Pradesh, and Sonia's response to the challenge before her party, rather her non-existent party in a state that habitually produces India's prime ministers, should be revealing.

Perhaps she does not have a way out of the labyrinth she finds herself and her party in, which could explain her explosive silence. But let her not forget: if intractable Uttar Pradesh can be won back, the rest of the country should not be all that difficult a task, barring maybe Bihar.

But instead of striking out a bold and novel initiative, what Sonia Gandhi has done is to woo back the scheduled castes and tribes, the multitudes on whose back rolled the juggernaut for so many decades, for so many elections, with mere lollies. Do the SC/ST give a damn to her overtures, especially at a time when they have found a voice and muscle in other messiahs.

Look at the Congress's woes. The Dalits have abandoned her party for Kanshi Ram. The OBCs and Muslims for Mulayam Singh. The forward-caste Hindus and the middle class have gone with the BJP. Her party, thus, is left with a skeleton of a vote bank. In an era of changing loyalties, only the Marxists seem to have held on to their flock, but even their base has been eroding, as successive recent elections have shown.

Thus, given the new realities, Sonia Gandhi needs a new programme to revive the party that led -- some say usurped -- India's Independence movement. Reshuffling the party apparatus and stuffing the vacant slots with loyalists does not amount to the party revival programme. If anything, this will drive the party further into the swamp.

Taking over the party apparatus is what Sonia's mother-in-law did so well. It is obvious that the present Congress president is taking a leaf out of the family archives, but what she is forgetting in her haste to occupy 7 Race Course Road is that Indira Gandhi operated in a different matrix. The situation prevailing in India then allowed a sycophant to liken her to India with nary a protest, but such comparisons would draw derision today.

What Sonia needs to realise is that the party is her fief, her challengers within have no spine and those with a spine are either dead and gone, or are outside the party. So rather than tinker with the organisational setup and fill all posts with yesmen, she should spend time debating how to win over those who have abandoned the Congress. If she can't come up with fresh ideas, perhaps she should consult ex-generals and media experts; after all, it is all about winning a war.

Saisuresh Sivaswamy