Indian National Congress from Alan Octavian Hume to Sonia Gandhi : Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

Rewarded Congress Rebels!

Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao

If it was Alan Octavian Hume, a civil servant in British India and a political reformer, who with the blessings of the Viceroy Lord Dufferin, to be credited for the birth of Indian National Congress, then it is Sonia Gandhi an Italian born Indian politician to be credited for not only reviving congress but also for returning it back to power. PV Narasimha Rao, who succeeded former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi after his assassination as Congress President headed a minority government after 1991 parliament elections. Though he converted the minority government in to majority, through sheer intelligence and political tactics, the congress fortunes dwindled and it lost elections in 1996. PV resigned first as party president and later as parliamentary party leader in favor of veteran Sitaram Kesri.

Several senior party stalwarts were in open revolt against Sitaram Kesri and quit the party, splitting into many factions. At that critical juncture on “popular party functionaries” demand Sonia Gandhi joined Congress as “Primary Member” and within two months she “accepted when offered” the party President Post despite her nationality was questioned. She remained the unquestionable leader for a record period of over 12 years as President and revived the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Her decision and consensus in the party are synonyms!

History of 125 year old Indian National Congress is the history for supremacy between “Loyalists” and “Opponents” of Nehru-Gandhi family. Morarji Desai, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Chandrasekhar, Inder Kumar Gujral, would have remained as “Loyalists” to Nehru-Gandhi family and would have continued in the Congress led cabinets led by one of the heirs of that dynasty like a Pranab Mukherjee or a Ghulam Nabi Azad or an Ambika Soni or any one like them, had they not rebelled and left Indian National Congress of their times. They rebelled and were rewarded with Prime Ministerial berths. Jagjivan Ram revolted and could become Deputy Prime Minister. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy would not have become President of India had he remained in Congress Party. Such of those leaders like Sharad Pawar, Mamata Benerjee, Karunakaran though rebelled and left the party, however, could not reach the peak, though they were rewarded with positions short of their expectations.

Rocking its own ship has been the culture of the Congressmen right from its inception more than 125 years ago. Perhaps, being the grand old party in Indian politics and also for its exceptional role being in the forefront during the freedom struggle dissidence and rebellion has been an in-built mechanism. It was but natural that the clashes of interests within the Congress were primarily confined and rotated round pro and anti Nehru-Gandhi clan! Beginning with Motilal Nehru, successive members of the family at one time or other rebelled against the then existing Congress Leadership or policies not liked by them and in the process regained strong hold and command over the party to become more powerful and indispensable.

Motilal Nehru was the founder patriarch of powerful political Nehru-Gandhi family. Having served twice as President of Indian National Congress, Motilal handed over the party presidency to his London educated son Jawaharlal Nehru who entered politics just a decade ago. For Nehru family members and admirers it was a transfer of power and laying foundation for the future Prime Ministerial berth. Mahatma Gandhi’s support, then and later, always remained with Nehru family and as long as he lived, everyone who opposed Jawaharlal were reduced to minority in the party! Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose, Tandon and Pattabhi Seetaaramayya were among them. After Independence Nehru’s supremacy show over Acharya Kripalani and his frequent questioning Nehru’s decisions were also rebellion within. Gaining supremacy within Congress had a typical Nehru-Gandhi style like in the case of Jawaharlal opposing his father’s preference for Dominion Status. While he remained in the party Motilal helped found the Swaraj Party. The family which produced three Prime Ministers and the fourth one in the waiting controlled Congress President for four decades and as many as twenty five times. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi leads the current Congress coalition government in India as the coalition’s Chair Person and as President of All India Congress Committee. Her son Rahul Gandhi is a powerful Member of Parliament and General Secretary of Congress Party.

Such skirmishes became more pungent leading to split in the Congress party not once, but twice when Indira Gandhi took over the reins as party chief as well as Prime Minister later. Conspiracies were always hatched either to challenge the Nehru-Gandhi legacy time and again or orchestrated by the family members when they smelt that they are being challenged. The like minded syndicate leaders like Kamaraj-Nijalingappa-Morarji Desai-Sanjeevareddy-SK Patil, either in combination or on their own caused the split in the party challenging none other than ‘iron lady’ Indira Gandhi, well known to Indian people. However, she managed to be triumphant overcoming all the hurdles put before, yet again due to her envious links to Nehru clan and unprecedented public image she enjoyed. History may even put it the other way, that, it was Indira who forced the split to do away with her opponents.

After her demise, her elder son Rajiv Gandhi, who took over the reins amidst turbulent times, too was a victim of similar conspiracies. Unlike his mother, who was known for her political maneuverings, Rajiv though new to Indian politics yet managed to survive turbulent times due to a strong coterie which vowed unstinted allegiance to his family to protect their interests. Vishwanath Pratap Singh, on the issue of Bofors walked out from the party and succeeded Rajiv as Prime Minister. Sonia Gandhi was not willing to take over the mantle, perhaps due to her inability to overcome that ghastly incident in which her husband was killed. She was also equally reluctant to oblige those Nehru-Gandhi family loyalists request to allow her young son, Rahul to take over the mantle.

Ironically, following the tragic Rajiv assassination, though reluctantly, the Congressmen hurriedly accepted P V Narasimha Rao to head the party signaling his chances of becoming Prime Minister if the party fares well in the general elections that were half-way-through. PV was also commonly referred to as the Chanakya of modern India for his ability to steer tough economic and political legislation through the parliament at a time when he headed a minority government. Being the AICC President, he was a rebel from within, and silently challenged the supremacy of Nehru-Gandhi family represented by Madam Sonia Gandhi. When the Indian National Congress split in 1969 Rao stayed on the side of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and remained loyal to her during the Emergency period. He was also loyal and advisor to Rajiv Gandhi, though, was not trusted follower of Sonia Gandhi. He also broke convention by appointing a non-political economist and future prime minister, Manmohan Singh as his finance minister, who was the one and only choice of Sonia Gandhi to nominate as Congress parliamentary leader when she had to “sacrifice” left with no alternate. PV’s five year tenure witnessed many political upheavals within the party, with frequent clashes between pro and anti Gandhi-Nehru family’s dynastic rule.

PV paid for his doubted loyalty to Sonia and had to shed party chief’s post after Congress faced defeat in the 1996 elections to another senior Congress leader Sitaram Kesri. To prove his loyalty to Sonia and return the reward, Kesari forced PV to resign as Congress Parliamentary Party Leader. Sharad Pawar challenged Sitaram Kesri, the then nominee of Sonia, for the post of Congress President, and was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile pressure on Sonia increased from “Fundamental Loyalists” to take over party leadership and save from collapse putting the blame on PV. Kesari was unceremoniously pushed out and in 1998 Sonia, another Nehru-Gandhi family member sat on the Congress throne. Since then Sonia is heading the party and now all set to enter into record books of the party for holding the Chief’s post for more than a decade, uninterruptedly. In all, the Nehru-Gandhi family, held the record of holding party presidents’ post for more than 25 times and for nearly 40 years in its 125-year-old history.

Incidentally, even Sonia had to face anti Gandhi-Nehru group’s ire when party was set to win the 2004 polls. Pawar who served as Leader of Opposition in the dissolved 12^th Lok Sabha demanded that the Congress Party needed to project someone born in India as the Prime Ministerial candidate and not the Italian-born Sonia Gandhi. He, supported by former Lok Sabha Speaker Sangma raised a banner of revolt on her nationality and formed Nationalist Congress Party. Unperturbed Sonia, instead, tactfully managed her ‘foreign nationality’ issue more bravely by naming an able administrator like Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Ministerial candidate. Pranab Kumar Mukherjee who was the Finance Minister when Manmohan Singh was made Governor of Reserve Bank of India and in a way in higher position than him had no option except to settle as cabinet minister in his cabinet. After all in politics one has to wait for his or her chance to reach the “peak”. His ambition to become PM is still alive!

Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party had to align with the Congress party to form a coalition government in Maharashtra. The alliance has endured at the national and state level to this day. After 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he joined the United Progressive Alliance government. His ambition to become PM is still alive!

But, now with Sonia’s plans of nourishing and making her son Rahul to succeed Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister and support Manmohan’s candidature for President of India when it falls vacant, “Aspirants” to occupy them are silently becoming active once again. Plans to checkmate the dynastic rule at the Centre bringing on to the surface similar moves in the states, are now being intensified. Curtailing the claims of Congress Party MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy who to succeed his father as his political heir could be a bigger plan. Jagan might have a got a “secret green signal” from anti Nehru-Gandhi Family “Sonia Loyalists”!

Sonia probably is aware of these moves. She has her own plans to counter the moves against her in atypical Indira way. May be she has found a tool in Jagan to overhaul the Indian National Congress at all levels and fill the posts with “Staunch Loyalists”. How and when she will wriggle out of the prevailing situation is anybody’s guess. The party is passing through difficult times and her final decision to succumb to those who opposed to dynastic rule may force her to prefer yet another virtual split in the century old party.

The split looks like imminent, if not irresistible either way! Is it going to be Indian National Congress (S) or Indian National Congress (R).