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Sonia's charisma sways Congress in Kerala

Sonia Gandhi has conclusively demonstrated her charisma, at least among Congressmen, when she presided over a mammoth rally at the Marine Drive promenade in Kochi on Friday.

Such was the response of the people that Sonia had to wait a full hour at the government guest house before the police could clear the route clogged by teeming party workers.

Bus-loads poured in from neighbouring districts, and began streaming into the grassy expanse overlooking the picturesque waterfront, hours in advance of Sonia's scheduled arrival at 1600 hours.

The situation teetered on the brink of a law and order problem as Congress cadres defied police attempts to disperse them as they cascaded towards the entrance to the venue.

Several Congress leaders climbed the dais erected for Sonia and pleaded with the crowd. ''If you don't clear the way, the Special Protection Group will not allow Soniaji to come,'' a leader screamed. To the dismay of the local police, the crowd began to jeer their boss, the superintendent of police.

When she finally arrived, the gathering rose to its feet amidst shouts of Sonia ki jai. Rajiv's widow was touched by the display of collective affection. She opened her speech with her trademark greeting in Malayalam. The crowd roared its approval. Then Sonia lapsed into the emotive rhetoric that had been scripted for the occasion.

She flaunted her credentials as the next-in-line of the Nehru-Gandhi clan, saying she had decided to step in at this juncture to save the Congress in its moment of crisis and to fulfil the vision of her slain husband. ''His voice may have been silenced, but his message is vibrant and alive,'' she said amidst ringing applause. ''I do not seek office but only to work for the future of the nation.''

Sonia was ushered to the venue by former Kerala chief ministers K Karunakaran and A K Antony who then proceeded to compete with each other in proclaiming her the supreme leader.

Congress leaders privately expressed their disapproval of the unseemly sycophantic display put on by the two Congress veterans. Sonia's emergence as a power centre promises to open an era of one-upmanship between the two sworn rivals, with each trying to gain the ears of the party supremo.

Party cadres at the rally received confusing signals from the dais about the status of their traditional adversary, the Communist Party of India-Marxist.

Neither Sonia nor the other Congress leaders made even a passing reference to the party, clearly indicating a soft approach to the Left parties and a corresponding hardline stance in relation to the BJP.

The Congress rank and file has not received the new agenda with much enthusiasm. The BJP is only a notional threat to the Congress in Kerala.

Nevertheless, Sonia's visit has left the Congress and its allies upbeat about the coming Lok Sabha poll. There is optimism that the Sonia factor will raise the current United Democratic Front tally of 10 seats -- the state has 20 constituencies.

UDF liaison committee convenor Shankaranarayanan said, ''Sonia has enthused our cadres. They now have a leader to rally around.''

However, the rival CPI-M disagrees. State Industry Minister Susheela Gopalan countered, ''She may draw crowds, but that will not translate into votes.''

The Congress does not see Sonia's foreign origin as a handicap. Mahila Congress secretary Mercy Ravi has a poser for Sonia critics, ''What is anyone's objection to Sonia? That she is a foreigner, or that she is a woman, or that she belongs to the Nehru family? The BJP must make its position clear to the people.''

The Kochi rally clearly indicates that Sonia has grassroots appeal within the Congress. Whether this appeal extends to the common citizen is what is on test in the coming election.

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