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Congress president Sonia Gandhi will wait for Madhavrao Scindia's funeral rites to be completed on Wednesday before deciding on his successor as the party's deputy leader in the Lok Sabha.
"Scindiaji performed the role with distinction and dignity," said Congress general secretary Oscar Fernandes. "He has left behind a void which our party president will find difficult to fill."
Fernandes indicated that the party was still trying to get over the shock of Scindia's tragic death.
Congress politicians from all over the country, including the Northeast, flocked to Delhi on Monday to pay tributes to Scindia at his Safdarjung Road residence.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who visited the house on Sunday as well as Monday, wrote in the condolence book, "Lightning has fallen. Can fate be so cruel? My salute (to Scindia)."
"Madhavrao Scindia's role as the party's deputy leader was superb. He excelled over everybody else in his party," said Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley as he went about making arrangements before the body arrived from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences where it underwent a post-mortem examination.
The assembled Congress politicians were quick to agree with Jaitley. "Whether it was tearing the government apart on the Tehelka issue, the stock-market scam or the UTI scam, Scindia led the vanguard of our party's attack in the Lok Sabha. His analysis of the government's failure during the Agra summit was equally impressive and was wholeheartedly supported by our leadership," said senior Lok Sabha member Santosh Mohan Deb.
"It is not as if the Congress lacks talent. But to measure up to Madhavrao is an impossible proposition," he asserted.
"He was not a hothead, neither was he a coward. But he made his point with persuasive brilliance, so much so that even the shouting brigade of the National Democratic Alliance benches was forced to pay heed to him and listen with respect," Deb pointed out.
Former Indian Youth Congress chief and former Lok Sabha member Satyajitrao Gaekwad remarked that he had begun to "dread Sundays".
"Rajesh Pilot died in a road accident on Sunday," he pointed out. "Jitendra Prasada died of brain haemorrhage on Sunday. And now Madhavraoji was killed in a place crash on Sunday. I have no reason to disbelieve what Mani Shankar Aiyar said -- that our party appears to be cursed."
Referring to Scindia's death, Gaekwad, pointing out that Scindia outshone everyone in the party, said, "It is not just the loss of an individual, but the legacy that he left behind. There cannot be another Scindia."
Former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress veteran Abdul Rehman Antulay was equally profuse in his appreciation of "Scindia's sterling qualities".
"From a talented leader in the Congress, he transformed himself into a heavyweight. It is no surprise that our party chief made him deputy leader in the Lok Sabha. He earned the post through his hard work, intelligence and plain horse-sense," Antulay said.
According to him, Sonia Gandhi would consult senior party leaders, including members of the Congress Party in Parliament and the Congress Working Committee, before appointing Scindia's successor.
"But whoever it is, he will have to at least have 60 per cent of Scindia's talents," Antulay pointed out.
Among the front-ranking contenders now are the party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, Pawan Kumar Bansal, the irrepressible Mani Shankar Aiyar and articulate spokesman S Jaipal Reddy.
"But while these leaders have admirably served the party in one capacity or another, nobody can quite match Madhavrao Scindia's talents," contended Congressman Wasim Ahmed.
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