'Listening And Learning'?

HYDERABAD

Rahul Gandhi was unofficially anointed the heirapparent to the Congress legacy here on January 23: Now all that remains is theofficial coronation. On the last day of the 82nd plenary session of theCongress, he made an impressive debut on the Congress stage, giving someindication that the self-imposed political education he had embarked on after hewon a Lok Sabha seat from Amethi was yielding something.

Indeed, if the convention of a political party should ideally be an occasionfor motivating the ordinary worker and placing him -- or her -- at the heart ofthe business that wins or loses elections, Rahul – who made his maiden speechat an official Congress forum -- and his mother, Congress president SoniaGandhi -- did just that while addressing the plenary session here.

For three days, Congress leaders and workers thronging Rajiv Nagar, attendingthe session here, built up the momentum for a larger role for Rahul Gandhi – aman who is the symbol on which the party pins its hopes of a revival in theareas from where it has all but vanished. It was a well-choreographed effort: Itbegan with letters before the session and posters of the dimpled Rahulplastered all over Hyderabad, continuing with the slogan shouting and thedisruption of the discussions as party workers demanded he sit on the dais andthe speeches of party leaders – all making a plea that he be given a rolebefitting his lineage. But Rahul’s speech -- signaling the start of agenerational shift in the party -- in the closing hours of the session, made itclear that he wanted to be seen as a "soldier", not just as a symbol ofhope. The message, he seemed to say, was as important as the medium. Announcinghe was ready and willing to take on any task assigned to him by the leadership,he stressed that he was still at the stage when he was still "listening andlearning".

So while it was clear that there would be no announcement of any elevation atthe plenary, with party general secretary Janaradan Dwivedi saying from thestage: " The workers’ demands have been heard and taken note of. Some stepswill be taken." However, party sources said that neither Sonia Gandhi norRahul wanted an announcement to be made at the session: "Party workers areunpredictable – suppose they shouted out that they wanted to see him as PrimeMinister – that would be embarrassing." Now, all that remains, these sourcessaid, was for mother and son to decide the timing of an announcement of theofficial role he would play. "It can’t be less than a slot on the party’sapex body, the Congress Working Committee – which still has five vacancies,"said a party functionary.

However, it was more than clear that he would focus his energies on UP fromnow on – and not just Amethi. If enthused workers marched around at lunchtime, shouting, "Mulayam hoshiar, Rahul Gandhi aa gaye hain", a young MPsaid, "We should see some action in UP now."

For the party worker, what mattered was that Rahul focused on the core issuesthat plague the party -- its virtual absence in the Hindi heartland, especiallyUttar Pradesh, and the abysmal state of the organization there: "There arepeople who blame our party’s decline in these areas on communal and casteistpolitics and the growth of regional parties. I don’t agree. We are weak inthose states where we stopped fighting for the people, where we failed toaddress their aspirations and we lost the ability to link our organization withthe people, and to use our workers. We have a large number of true grassrootsworkers and leaders – you know the difference between leaders and netas."

The laughter that greeted the last remark and the thunderous applause thatfollowed, made it amply clear that Rahul had succeeded in making the connectionwith the average party worker. This is what they wanted to hear: "Leadershipcan’t be created overnight – it has to be nurtured and built brick by brick.There is no fast track," he said.

But Rahul’s speech made more than a connection: As he asked the partyleadership to recognize the strength that lay in "our grassroots workers whofight our battles, carry our flag and take the lathis from the opposition" and"give them a voice in the organization", he struck an inspirational note ashe turned the BJP’s spin on "Hindutva as nationalism" concept head-on: "Iwas once asked what my religion was -- my answer was that it was the Indianflag. After my father died, I promised myself that I would serve the people andbe true to my party and my religion, to what this flag represents."

In her speech, Sonia Gandhi, too, placed the worker at the centre of theCongress universe: "The Congress has always been a party of karyakartas. Wehave workers in every village, in every basti, in every mohalla of our vastcountry. They give us strength. No words are sufficient to appreciate theircontributions."

Placing party above government, she said that the experience of these workerswas that once the party was in power, their colleagues in government took themfor granted: "That attitude must change for it must be understood that it isthe party which wins a mandate, it is the party which makes central and stategovernments."

Simultaneously, in an echo of husband Rajiv Gandhi’s famous "powerbrokers"speech at the Mumbai plenary in 1985, Sonia hit out those in her party who usedpositions – a clear swipe at former external affairs minister K Natwar Singh-- for personal aggrandizement. There was urgent need to implement the party’scode of conduct for its members to ensure that they maintained the dignity ofthe offices they held.

Indeed, the speeches of the two Gandhis on the last day lent some meaning tothe three day exercise, the official focus of which was to have been thediscussion and the passage of the resolutions on the political situation,economic affairs, agriculture and poverty alleviation, and internationalaffairs. If the deliberations on day one at the extended meeting of the CongressWorking Committee were held in camera, the discussions that were thrown open onday two and three – when the Subjects Committee and the full Plenary took upthe resolutions -- saw speakers stretching their creative talents to make shortor long, poetic or prosaic demands for the coronation of Rahul Gandhi. Not justthat, from time to time, party delegates disrupted the proceedings twice onJanuary 22, demanding that Rahul be seated on the dais. Twice, Rahul climbed onto the stage to silence the restive crowd and promise that he would speak onJanuary 23.

So what did the party achieve in three days? One, the party clarified that itstill remained committed to the coalition dharma, and expected its partners toobserve the same discipline even as it gave a call for strengthening the partyin areas in which it was weak. Two, it sent out its usual confused message oneconomic policy—"reforms with a human face" -- fielding thereforms-friendly finance minister P Chidambaram to hold a press conference onthe subject while Sonia in her speech stressed: " We have changed the mannerin which economic reforms are perceived , from an excessive pre-occupation withFDI and privatization, to an over riding emphasis on employment, education,agriculture and health." Three, if there was any criticism of the governmentat all, it was in the resolution on international affairs and the speech thatdefence minister Pranab Mukherji made while introducing it. – a veiled warningthat the government must not deviate too much from the traditional ideologicalpostulates of the party.

In the end, all this -- and the political mess in Karnataka -- wasovershadowed by the Rahul Gandhi factor and the promise that he holds out –the promise to the ordinary party worker in Uttar Pradesh, and the youngerelements in the party leadership that he would work with them, shoulder toshoulder, to build a brave new Congress in the 21st century.

PS After the euphoria of the plenary session, Sonia Gandhi’s first taskwill be to deal with the crisis in Karnataka – on January 25, she is scheduledto meet former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and Janata Dal (S) leader HD DeveGowda to make one last effort before the Congress-JD-S government faces a voteof confidence on January 27 in Bangalore.