Nervous Congress party turns to Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi: The Congress party has turned to its ailing national president Sonia Gandhi to save it from sinking during the next general elections.

The majority victory in tiny northeastern state Mizoram on Monday did not bring cheer to the top leaders of the party after Sunday’s drubbing in four crucial states, which gave broad signals that the Indian voters are yearning for change.

Top leaders of the Congress party met informally at Sonia’s residence to discuss results of the state elections. While the party has not officially announced what transpired at the meeting, sources said that the seniors discussed a change in strategy of not naming its prime ministerial or chief ministerial candidates since the parties that prospered at the cost of the Congress party had all named their chief ministerial candidates.

“The next real challenge before us is the fast approaching Lok Sabha elections. Since BJP has already named [Narendra] Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, which we do feel helped BJP get extra votes in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, we cannot afford to go to polls without letting the voters know who would be their prime minister if they vote for us,” said a senior central office bearer of the Congress party.

Sonia has cut down on her public appearances and only made symbolic outings in the just concluded state polls due to an unidentified ailment, which is often Indian media term for cancer. She has often been visiting United States for treatment and check-ups, leaving command of the party in the hands of her son, Rahul Gandhi, who is vice-president of the party.

Rahul’s failure to charm voters is fast becoming a source of concern for the party.

The party fared badly in Uttar Pradesh, which sent both him and his mother Sonia to parliament and that was followed by a total rout in four states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi — where Rahul led the party’s campaign from the front.

Rahul was touted as the undeclared prime ministerial candidate of the Congress party. The party may, however, have a rethink over the issue.

The party cannot even risk nominating incumbent prime minister Manmohan Singh due to his advanced age and the fact that his governance record is being seen as one of the major reasons for the Congress party’s poor showing in the recent elections.

“That leaves us with little choice. Only madam [Sonia] can infuse a new lease of life among the demoralised voters, prop us our prospects and take Modi head-on. We are trying to convey this message to her. The problem is that we can put across this request in a covert manner as it may annoy Rahul, who has proved to be a slow learner,” the Congress leader said.

However, another section of the party feels it would be a big risk if Sonia is directly pitted against Modi since Modi’s popularity is growing.

It has become a catch-22 situation for the Congress party, as it has no ready alternative and going to polls without naming its prime ministerial candidate, many feel, is akin to giving a walkover to Modi-led BJP.

The next Lok Sabha polls are scheduled for April-May next year and the little time left is a big headache for the Congress party trying to initiate corrective measures and bounce back into contention.