JUST when it looked as if Sonia Gandhi may play a more active role in party affairs, the spectres of St Kitts, Bofors and Ottavio Quattrochi have begun to raise their heads. The alarm bells have not begun to ring at 10, Janpath since the CBI chargesheet against Rao in the St Kitts case does not name Rajiv Gandhi, but there is some discomfort from the fact that Rao was a senior minister in Rajiv’s cabinet.
Most senior party leaders echo the sentiment that Rajiv Gandhi did not have a role in the entire affair. At another level, they also believe that there is nothing to gain from dragging the name of a leader who is no more through the mire. Although they cannot explain Rao’s motivation for planning the St Kitts operation without Rajiv’s knowledge, they speculate that the former may have wanted to score brownie points with the then prime minister.
They point out that Rajiv’s involvement is impossible to prove unless Rao himself chooses to name him. And for Rao, it might be counter-productive to bring the late Congress president into the picture. Says a senior Congressman: "If Rao names him, Congressmen will stone him to death. Rao will be finished."
Although Sitaram Kesri has admitted that the St Kitts case has to some extent corroded the party image, the mood within the Congress is to steer the sinking ship to calmer waters. Senior partymen point out that the Congress will rally against Rao rather than support him. They also repeat the anthem that Rajiv Gandhi was "not devious" and above conspiracies of the St Kitts kind.
Party unity (rather, reunification) is the Congress buzzword these days. The idea, mooted by the anti-Rao faction within the party two months ago, appears to have emanated from 10, Janpath. At any rate, Sonia Gandhi is its strongest advocate. And for a sizeable section of Congressmen, Sonia as the inheritor of the Indira-Rajiv legacy symbolises party unity. Says former industries minister K. Karunakaran: "Soniaji has told us that she will actively participate in the unity move. We have asked her to give the unity call at the next AICC session and she has agreed."
Sonia’s influence over the Congress is quite remarkable. According to senior Congressmen who have interacted with her, she has never played an intrusive role but her blessings or approval for any major decision is seen as vital. Though she has shied away from active politics, it is difficult to explain why she is looked up to by a sizeable section of the Congress leadership. P.C. Chacko, Congress MP from Kerala, tries to explain this. Says he: "If you want to look for logical reasons as to why she is held in such esteem, you may not find it. But everywhere people respect her. She is seen as a member of a family which has sacrificed two of its members for the nation."
But unity clearly means different things to different people. The increasing body of 10, Janpath loyalists want the return of those who quit the party under Rao’s tenure, namely, people like Madhavrao Scindia, Arjun Singh, N.D. Tiwari and S. Bangarappa. Sharad Pawar, who opted out of the leadership stakes for the second time in five years, and the entire band of young turks favour this. So does Karunakaran. But Rajesh Pilot, upset at being denied a crack at party presidentship, wants unity in a wider sense. The people invited back into the party should include those who quit during Indira and Rajiv Gandhi’s time. Setting the clock back to 1969 would allow the re-entry of heavyweights like Chandra Shekhar, V.P. Singh and Ramakrishna Hegde. Curiously, Pilot’s demand is being supported by his principal bugbear; Rao and his band have been advocating wider unity, and this is being interpreted as a ploy to create confusion within the party.
Much depends on what the "interim" Congress president does next. "Kesri is the real Chanakya. He’ll show his colours gradually," commented a Congressman. But Kesri, whose association with the Gandhi family goes back to Jawaharlal Nehru, was an acceptable choice for Sonia. He is also among the many Congressmen who have requested Sonia to take over the reins of the party. In an emotional moment soon after Rajiv Gandhi’s death, he had placed his Gandhi cap at Sonia’s feet and begged her to save the party. Kesri is a regular visitor at 10, Janpath and a staunch supporter of the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation—a mammoth NGO with a Rs 31 crore corpus—to which he contributed Rs 1 crore as party treasurer.
Party MPs who are regular callers at 10, Janpath find Sonia well informed on national and party affairs. But having committed herself to bring about unity in the Congress, she will have to focus a lot more on politics and politicians. Congressmen believe the Sonia-Kesri team can stem the rot and revive the party.
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