Invoking Sonia power, Congress MPs force Sitaram Kesri to extract maximum concessions from Gujral for continued support to him, or else dump his government.

By Sumit Mitra with Javed M. Ansari

If the scene at the Congress headquarters on Delhi's Akbar Road on November 21 was any indication, the country is well into the campaign for the election of the 12th Lok Sabha. Surrounded by inquisitive Congressmen, resplendent in their mandatory white kurta-pyjamas, a loudspeaker from a parked van blasted out the mournful notes of Jane kahan woh kho gaya, woh Rajiv Gandhi hamara (Where is he lost, our Rajiv Gandhi). Below a garlanded portrait of India's last prime minister from the Nehru-Gandhi family was the slogan: V.P. Singh ho ya Narasimha Rao, Rajiv ke hatyaron ko phansi do (Hang Rajiv's killers, whether it be V.P. Singh or Narasimha Rao). Inside the office, the atmosphere was equally charged. Emerging from a press conference that marked the latest salvo in the game of competitive shrillness, party Vice-President Jitendra Prasada struck a defiant posture: "All attempts to fudge the issues raised in the Jain Commission report will fail miserably. Earlier, we took a stand against the communal forces who were behind Godse who murdered Mahatma Gandhi. Now we will fight the killers of Rajiv Gandhi." The hangers-on roared in approval.

The atmosphere was, to put it mildly, surreal. Having meandered its way from one bout of disorientation to another, the 112-year-old Indian National Congress was back to the game it perfected in 1984 and 1991: tinkering with popular emotion. The chattering classes may disapprove the contrived hysteria of politicians demanding political retribution for a murder committed by Sri Lanka's Tamil separatists six years ag. Even so, for a rudderless party that lost its pre-eminence in the Lok Sabha 18 months ago, the Jain report is much more than a fantasy-laced whodunit. It is a slogan that has the potential to rescue the Congress from political oblivion. "This is an issue where the heart rules the head," said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh.

It was emotional for another reason too. Ever since india today published the Jain Commission's interim report on Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, Congressmen have been galvanised into activity in the belief that this would signal Sonia Gandhi's formal entry into politics. The belief is based as much on fact as fantasy. It is well known that Sonia has minutely followed the investigation into Rajiv's tragic murder in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991. At her maiden political appearance in her husband's former constituenc, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh on August 24, 1995, she proclaimed her displeasure at the slow pace of the investigation. Her carefully-worded submission to the Jain Commission indicated her belief that Rajiv was killed as a result of laxity and political vendetta. Given this background, Congressmen were not unjustified in assuming that the revival of the Rajiv murder controversy would prod her into demanding revenge. Much of the Congress' shenanigans over the past week can be traced to a desperation to please Sonia. The Congress leadership did not necessarily do what it felt was politically prudent; it merely tried to second-guess what Sonia wanted.

It has been a bizarre exercise in remote control. Throughout the controversy, Sonia has not issued a statement or made a political speech. She was supposed to be present at the aicc office on November 19 to welcome a delegation from Uttar Pradesh but opted out at the last minute on "security" considerations. At the same time, she has met many Congress leaders, each of whom has emerged from the meeting pursuing a strident line. When the fragile truce agreed between Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and Congress stalwarts over dinner on November 13 broke down three days later, it was widely attributed to a signal that 10 Janpath would not like the debate on the Jain report to become an exercise in the vilification of Rajiv. Congress President Sitaram Kesri met Sonia for 40 minutes on November 15. Some Congress Working Committee (CWC) members who visited Kesri subsequently were startled by his transformation. "In 40 minutes, Madam turned Kesriji from a dove to a hawk," said one of them.

Likewise, Arjun Singh and former Kerala chief minister K. Karunakaran also met Sonia and their vociferous anti-DMK stance is perceived as being in tune with Sonia's wishes. In addition, Sonia's secretary, V. George, has made calls to Congress leaders to assess their reactions. Andhra Pradesh leader Rajasekhara Reddy says he was called by "Madam's office" to "discuss the situation" and West Bengal's stormy petrel Mamata Banerjee met George to secure endorsement for a no-confidence motion against the Gujral Government. The note on parliamentary procedures given by Kesri to Gujral on November 16 -- in effect advising the prime minister to resign gracefully if the Congress withdrew support, rather than press for a debate on the Jain report -- is understood to have been prepared at the behest of Sonia's office.

The invisible Sonia factor has weighed heavily on the minds of Congress leaders. That Kesri was made to wait two days before he secured an audience with Sonia prompted fractious leaders to draw their own conclusions about "Madam's" preferences. The myth of the enigmatic Sonia has not only persisted but gained currency. When some Congress leaders broached her for concrete advice, she refused to bite the bait. "Rajiv was your prime minister. You should know what to do," she is understood to have replied. When it was whispered that she would definitely campaign in the event of a snap election, Sonia put all calculations into disarray by stating that the Congress was looking for "shortcuts".

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