The Hindu : Sullen mood in Congress ahead of CWC meet

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Sunday, Dec 07, 2003

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Sullen mood in Congress ahead of CWC meet

By K.V. Prasad

NEW DELHI DEC. 6. The mood in the Congress on the eve of its extended Working Committee meeting tomorrow appears to be sullen. According to a senior leader, knives are out for Ambika Soni, general secretary, and Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi. Both of them are perceived to be part of a "cabal" that dominates the decision-making within the All-India Congress Committee.

Besides all the CWC members, the three outgoing Chief Ministers and the Pradesh Congress Committee presidents from these States have been called to attend the meeting, which will take stock of the party's political choices after the debacle in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

However, the first priority would be staving off any kind of challenge to Ms. Gandhi's leadership. Efforts are on to get members to pass a resolution reaffirming faith in her leadership. Given this compulsion to divert attention away from the "high command," one or two members of the "cabal" may face the axe and a thorough revamp of the AICC hierarchy promised.

The charge against Ms. Soni is that as in charge of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, she failed to heed the collective wisdom of the senior leaders opposed to the Chief Minister. The senior leader, Arjun Singh, has let it be known that he would be speaking out against the "mistakes" made. The charge against Mr. Patel is that he, along with Ms. Soni, provided "protection" to the defeated Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot. Another senior leader, Natwar Singh, is expected to lead the offensive.

There is a feeling that the party has paid the price for "over-dependence" on the judgment of the Chief Ministers and their poll management by sidelining senior leaders even during the campaign. It is another matter that this approach brought dividends for the party in Delhi.

Such is the intensity of the feeling that some senior leaders in private say that the Chief Ministers had a major say in the selection of candidates and, in some cases, even adverse reports prepared by the AICC observers were ignored. A charge against the former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, Ajit Jogi, is that he had an "individualistic style of functioning, created a divide and alienated all sections of society."

A common factor in the three States was the insignificant role played by the PCC chiefs in the run-up to the polls and virtually becoming an extension of the Chief Ministers' camp.

Counter-arguments are also available. For instance, there is considerable resentment over the apology tendered by Mr. Arjun Singh to the people of Madhya Pradesh for the "power crisis," which was used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to attack the Congress. There is also a complaint that many senior leaders, including Mr. Natwar Singh, concentrated on their sons' campaign instead of utilising their appeal all over the State.

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