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George Iype in Bangalore
Is the Congress party getting tired of Sonia Gandhi's leadership?
If the increasing number of leaders who are flocking to former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao is any indication, it seems the party's last prime minister is getting more popular by the day.
But Sonia Gandhi's aides say the bonhomie between the two is not because party leaders are weary of Sonia's leadership, but because Rao has made up with the party president in recent months.
So it was that Rao occupied pride of place at the All India Congress Committee session on Saturday, beside Gandhi on the dais, which made some party leaders comment that 'there weren't any disgruntled voices in the party'.
It was also significant that Sonia Gandhi began her inaugural speech at the AICC session with 'Shri Narasingh Raoji'.
Rao, who had been treated shabbily by party leaders ever since Sonia Gandhi took over, is one of the key participants in at the 81st plenary session of the AICC.
"Rao is a trusted leader who has never thought of picking up a fight with her. There may have been occasions when differences of opinion cropped up between them. But now it is a perfect, smooth relationship between them," a senior Congress leader close to Rao told rediff.com.
Party leaders said though Sonia Gandhi and her coterie have been accused of commandeering the party in their own direction, the Congress president has always lent an ear to what Rao has to say on some of the crucial problems and matters concerning the party.
In fact, party sources claim, Sonia Gandhi is said to have taken to the former Congress prime minister, who has not posed any threat to her leadership so far.
Last month, she regularly sent her trusted lieutenants Pranab Mukherjee, K Natwar Singh and Salman Khurshid to Rao to prepare the political and economic agenda for the AICC session. While she is said to have been keen to learn from Rao's political acumen, the former prime minister in turn gave her the ideological direction the party badly needs to revive itself.
Party leaders said the Congress Working Committee finalised its various resolutions on political affairs, economic issues, agriculture and foreign affairs with the active help of and support from Rao.
Many believe Rao's touch is seen in many sections of the political and economic resolutions, especially those dealing with economic reforms and coalition governments.
A Congress leader confided that the Congress, which has been groping in the dark on many crucial issues, has been able to chalk out a viable strategy at the AICC because of Rao. "He introduced the economic reform policies in the country a decade back. Surely she knows her limitations and has sought the former prime minister's help," he said.
He added that unlike the late former Congress president Sitaram Kesri and disgruntled leaders like Rajesh Pilot and Jitendra Prasada, Rao and his supporters never tried to attack Gandhi in public even once in the last four years.
"It seems Gandhi is realising that Rao's competence in vital policy issues and his advice matter a lot these days,' the Congress leader added.
According to senior Congress leader from Kerala A K Antony, it is a misconception that Rao has been at loggerheads with the party leadership.
"Who said Narasimha Rao has been a dissident all these years? He has always been there supporting the party. His presence here is proof enough that the Congress is united and Soniaji is in command of the party," Antony added.
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