Succession plan taking shape
By Harihar Swarup
Sonia Gandhi’s written instructions before leaving for United States to undergo a surgery for an undisclosed ailment that four leaders including Rahul Gandhi will look after party affairs in her absence signals a transition in which her son will play a dominant role in running the affairs of the party. Happily she underwent surgery successfully at New York’s Sloan-Kettering hospital but she is likely to remain out of action for quite sometime. Her stay may be more than two or three weeks in New York, she needs time for recuperation even after return to Delhi. Congress insiders’ guess is that she may be fit enough in six months time to resume her full responsibilities as the Congress president.
In her absence, besides Rahul, her political secretary, Ahmed Patel, head of the media department, Janardhan Dwivedi and Defence Minister A K Antony will look after party affairs. The appointment of the four-member group is no doubt a contingency plan but it will give them, particularly Rahul the responsibility of steering the Congress party. This is a difficult time for the Congress party and UPA government, they are confronted with multiple crises including allegation of corruption at high places.
At the moment Rahul is much more than a general secretary and manages most of the party affairs including policy matters and sensitive ones. He has a say in appointment of party functionaries, PCC Presidents and even ministers. He has played an important role in recent cabinet expansion, having got inducted a few of his young team.
Congress leaders do not hesitate in saying that Rahul could, in the short term, may take his mother’s place in the core group and even take on Sonia Gandhi’s responsibilities as the party President. “Who can stop if Rahulji wants to attend core group meetings, usually held on every Friday at the Prime Minister’s residence and shoulder the burden of the Congress President’s office”, a senior leader said.
This is the first time that Sonia Gandhi has formally constituted such a team and her decision has led some in the party to suggest that the move may have been prompted by longer term objectives than what the Congress is currently willing to officially state. Party leaders are, understandably, cagy about the implication of Sonia’s illness, political or otherwise, and remain tight-lipped on anything but the bare-bone statement released by Dwivedi.
The composition of the group has given rise to much curiosity in the Congress circles; many leaders have begun to wonder if Rahul, who has so far avoided a ministerial berth, is being propelled towards the top slot. Others, though, prefer not to over analyze , maintaining that Sonia’s state of health in the coming weeks and months would be crucial to determining Rahul’s trajectory .That Rahul will takeover the reins of the party sooner than later is uncontested. But the new arrangement has prompted animated talk in political circles.
Induction of Antony, the only one from the government in the four-member group, has drawn widespread attention. But those who know his proximity to 10, Janpath and trust of Sonia Gandhi that he enjoyed will not be surprised at his inclusion in the committee. He is also not driven by political ambition and can never become a rival of Rahul.
Pranab Mukherjee’s exclusion is evidently because of his pre-occupation with parliamentary and government work. Digvijay Singh has, probably, been left out because the idea was to establish a tight-nit management group and the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister is known not to get along too well with Patel. Rahul Gandhi has been asked to steer the Congress in line with the pattern of succession in the party since Jawaharlal Nehru’s time when ill health or tragedy have pushed the heir apparent forward. In 1959 when age was catching up with Nehru, Indira Gandhi was elected the Congress President.
In 1984, Rajiv Gandhi stepped into his mother’s shoes after she was assassinated. Another tragedy – death of his brother Sanjay in a air crash — had brought him in politics three years earlier.
Sonia Gandhi, whose appointment of Rahul in the crore team that will oversee the Congress while she recuperates from surgery is being seen as a strong signal of her future succession plan. (IPA Service)