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Jaya's slight likely to leave Sonia smarting

Shobha Warrier in Villupuram

Congress president Sonia Gandhi must have finally realised that life with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham chief J Jayalalitha is not going to be that easy.

It was only a few days back at a public rally that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said the Congress had yet to learn from the Bharatiya Janata Party's experience -- the time he had to spend with Jayalalitha was the most painful period in his entire political life spanning over four decades, he claimed.

After amma's disappearing act at Villupuram which Sonia cannot but construe as a deliberate snub, Sonia would have to concede that there is indeed some truth in what Vajpayee said.

Villupuram is half-way between Madras and Trichy, around 160 kilometres from the former on national highway 45. According to the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee office in Madras, Sonia was to arrive at Villupuram from Trichy by helicopter at 1400 hours on Sunday but they were not sure.

The TNCC office in Villupuram also was not sure at what time madam was supposed to arrive. Might be another Bellary fiasco, all of us thought.

Even at 1300 hours, the ground opposite the Villupuram collectorate where both amma and madam were to address the crowd was empty. It looked more like a wasteland with hundreds of policemen guarding the empty expanse. The police personnel were also not sure about the time of madam's arrival.

It would definitely not be at 1400 hours, we were informed. It was only by 1500 hours that people started trickling in and the majority of them were AIADMK workers from the nearby areas.

"We have come to see amma. After all, MGR made her his heir apparent. Yes, we would like to see Sonia Gandhi also. We are sure that both the ammas together would make our poor country a prosperous and great nation. See we don't get rice or kerosene or oil from our ration shops properly. Once amma comes to power in Tamil Nadu and Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, all our woes will be over," Bhaskaran who had come from Pondicherry said. Venbu from a nearby village also echoed the same sentiment.

At 1600 hours, through the public address system, somebody from the Congress announced that Sonia Gandhi had just left Trichy and she would be at the venue soon. Then he intoned, ''The brightest young star of India, the son of India, Rahul Gandhi will also be here.''

There was no response from the crowd. They didn't know Sonia Gandhi had a son and his name was Rahul, let alone that he was India's brightest young star!

The Congressman continued shouting ''Sonia Gandhi ki jai , Rahul Gandhi ki jai.'' Sensing the mood of the crowd, he announced that Jayalalitha was also on her way from Madras and she had already reached Thindivanam, which was just half an hour from Villupuram. Whenever amma 's name was mentioned, the crowd which had by then increased tremendously, went into rapture and started chanting, amma, amma, amma..

Madam who was supposed to be at Villupuram at 1400 hours finally landed at the helipad behind the dais at 1640 hours. As the helicopter prepared to land, the Congressman shouting through the public address system went into a frenzy and the crowd waved at Sonia.

By then, a scribe who had called up Madras announced that amma had left only at 1530 hours from Madras. Normally it takes three hours to reach Villupuram from Madras and even if her convoy broke all speed limits and caution, she would still not be able to make it in time. By then, everybody in the press enclosure was sure amma was at her usual game.

Sonia got down from the chopper with Rahul and after consultations with Thindivanam Ramamurthy, the TNCC president, went to a room in the collectorate to wait for amma . She waited and waited -- a good 40 minutes in all -- but there was no news of amma. Amma, it was felt, having re-launched her own Jaya TV in the morning, might be too excited to think of anything else.

By 1720 hours or so, the Congressman screamed that Sonia Gandhi and son would be on the dais any moment. There was no mention of amma. Sonia got on to the shabbily built dais with Rahul and both started waving. The crowd waved back.

A visibly embarrassed and frightened AIADMK district secretary S S Paneer Selvan began his speech by apologising to the crowd that amma could not make it as ''she was caught in a sea of humanity in the south Madras constituency while campaigning for the Congress candidate.'' But her best wishes were with all, he added.

There was total silence. The crowd was plainly incredulous. Slowly, people, individually and in groups, began walking out of the venue although the Congressman reminded them that Sonia Gandhi was amma's close ally.

It was evident that the crowd was not interested in Sonia. It must have been one of the most embarrassing moments in her life. Sonia's lacklustre speech was in English and Thindivanam Ramamurthy translated it into Tamil but few were listening. It took just twenty minutes for the whole show to get over and the helicopter took off.

Many in the crowd just stood there as though thunderstruck, still unable to believe that amma had not come! The ambience was funereal where it had been expected to be festive.

Are you disappointed, I asked some of them. Yes we are, the chorus replied. ''All of us came to see amma only. But we are happy that at least we could see Sonia Gandhi,'' someone from the crowd bravely said, his tone dripping disappointment.

Not one but several people attributed Dalit Ezhilmalai's entry into the AIADMK as the reason for amma 's absence. In which case, does it mean Sonia Gandhi occupies only that much importance in her scheme of things?

As it is, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Karunanidhi and even Moopanar might have had a hearty laugh from the whole affair.

As we were returning to Madras, around 1930 or 2000 hours, near Thindivanam, we saw Jayalalitha's convoy of fifty vehicles heading for Villupuram!

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