RAJIV Gandhi's assassination on May 21, 1991, quite understandably, revived Sonia Gandhi's hostility towards politics. Therefore, it came as little surprise when she turned down the Congress Working Committee's unanimous request that she step into Rajiv's shoes. Through the years, she showed no signs of changing her mind. She assiduously avoided discussions on politics or the chances of her jumping on to the bandwagon after a year's mourning.
The few lucky media persons with whom she occasionally interacted came away with the impression that she 'hated' politics. She agreed to grant a formal interview to Alexander Chancellor of The Independent, London, perhaps the only one after Rajiv's assassination, on the condition that no political questions would be asked. In fact, all It questions with political connotations were withdrawn when Chancellor met her some time in early 1993.
Yet, Sonia kept in touch with Amethi, and with Congress leaders from across the country. For mental solace and guidance, she occasionally turned to Mother Teresa who urged her to "maintain a distance from politics". When Arjun Singh resigned from the cabinet on December 24, 1994, holding Narasimha Rao guilty for the delay in the Rajiv probe, he kept Sonia informed of the happenings. But five months later, when Arjun and N.D. Tiwari launched the Congress-T, Sonia was so indifferent that many loyalists felt betrayed.
That, however, did not stop her from being in the centre of controversy. First, her relationship with Rao deteriorated. The frequency of Rao's visit to 10, Janpath—a weekly affair when he took over as prime minister—declined after mid-1993, about the time he pulled off a trust vote in Parliament to give his government a majority. The Teen Murti library, run by the Nehru Memorial Trust which Sonia heads, was raided, and an exhibition on Ayodhya organised by the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAH-MAT) ordered closed by the government. A few months later, she dropped S.B. Chavan, home minister under Rao, from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
C.M. IBRAHIM
It is not a question of Sonia joining politics. She was always in politics, although she was working from behind a screen. Now she has come into the open. Her move will not affect the Janata Dal. Our vote base is different. But it may affect the BJP.
n 1994, she heeded the government's unofficial advice that nominating Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi for the Jawaharlal Nehru award for international understanding would be bad diplomacy and she should desist from it. A year later, she overruled this piece of advice and hon-oured Suu Kyi with the award.
Her speech on August 24, 1995, at Amethi, blaming the government for the delay in the Rajiv probe was one not-so-veiled criticism of Rao. It also renewed hopes among partymen that she would make an appearance in the runup to the elections to boost Congress chances. But she refused to campaign. Loyalists began to move away.
Again, when the Congress lost the elections and Rao quit as party president, Sonia was approached by senior leaders to take over the reins. She declined, and indicated her preference for A.K. Antony over Sitaram Kesri. But Rao had his way and anointed Kesri as party chief in September 1996. After Kesri came to the helm, Congress leaders again flocked to 10, Janpath. TMC leaders regularly called on her, giving her an acceptability—only technically though—beyond the Congress. After Kesri's takeover, the only public engagement she was involved in was the mushaira in Kanpur last month, in which the Uttar Pradesh Congress played an active part. That was, however, weeks after she had quietly enrolled herself as a "chavanni member" of the party in Delhi.
From May 21, 1991, to March 21, 1997, it has been a turnaround. This is only the reluctant widow's formal initiation into politics. Votaries and detractors alike await her next move. The veil has lifted, but the lady has yet to show her face.
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