by
Girish Nikam
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For the discerning participants and observers of the last week’s Nainital conclave of Congress Chief Ministers, the most interesting outcome was the interplay between the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh.

Every time we see the two together, what is most striking is the affection and respect both have displayed for each other ever since the formation of the UPA Government. Nainital however went beyond it. It was an open display of bonding and confidence the two have among them, which must have sunk the hearts of those within and outside the party who have been hoping and plotting to drive a wedge in this relationship.

Nearly Two and half years ago, when Sonia Gandhi made that historic decision to abstain from occupying the Prime Ministerial chair, and anoint the elderly Sikh gentleman for the post, many a tongues wagged. Everyone waited for her to show eagerness to drive the government from the back seat, display her extra-constitutional authority, make a puppet out of Manmohan Singh and generally fall into the trap of power brokers out to destroy the relationship between the two.
But no such thing has happened so far, and going by the body language of the two in Nainital, nothing of that sort need to be anticipated in the near or in all likelihood distant future too.

We are too close to the events to make an objective assessment of this most remarkable and unique partnership we are witnessing between the Congress President and the Congress party’s Prime Minister. Some distance in time would be able to provide a better perspective of this duo’s successes and failures. But what can be said without any fear of going wrong in the future too, is that the two are chalking out a new paradigm in Party-Government relationship, which may have a long standing impact not only on the Congress Party, but on the other
parties too.

Ever since the Independence, Congress Party, which was in power during the Nehru years and later in his daughter Indira’s, had witnessed some very interesting and bitter battles between the Congress President and the Prime Minister. For the first three years after independence, Nehru was only the Prime Minister and not the Congress President. In 1948, he got his acolyte Dr.Pattabhi Sitaramayya, who was earlier defeated by Subash Chandra Bose in 1939 despite being backed by Mahatma Gandhi, elected as the Congress President. For the first two years he therefore faced little problems from the party.

In 1950 however, Nehru suffered a bitter defeat when Purushotham Das Tandon upset his candidate, Acharya Kripalani and became the Congress President.

It was the Nehru-Tandon squabbles and differences, as the latter’s soft hindu stance offended the socialist and liberal Prime Minister, which laid the foundation for a Prime Minister-cum-Congress President legacy. In fact Nehru was so fed up of Tandon that in the next year, he gave up all his deeply held democratic beliefs and took over the Congress Presidentship for the next four years. He later gave up the Presidentship in 1955 at the famous Avadi Session, and handed it over to his most ardent and unquestioning acolyte, U. N.Dhebar.

Nehru’s legacy of PM-cum-Congress President was later carried on by his daughter, who� had bitter battles with the old guard consisting of Kamaraj and Nijalingappa, which even led to the famous Congress split in 1969. Even if she had for some time had others like Dev Kant Barooah as the President, he was another Dhebar or in fact even worse. Rajiv Gandhi during all his years as Prime Minister remained Congress President and so did P.V.Narasimha Rao.

So when Sonia Gandhi took over the party in 1998 as its President, the ethos of the party had degenerated to worshipping only power. Party was just an adjunct to get into power and enjoy its fruits. When the party was in the Government, it virtually became a tool in the hands of those in positions of power in the Government. So party’s programmes, its workers, their growth, and building up a dedicated and disciplined cadre took the back seat.

By one stroke of renunciation, Sonia in May 2004, sent out a strong signal to her party-men that being in Government when the party was in power is not the be all and end all of politics. And ever since, she has endeavoured to drill this in the minds of the party leaders and workers, and one can say it has not been an easy task. However, when the Union Ministers and the Chief Ministers faced the inquisition of the party apparatchiks in Nainital and had to defend themselves from some tough questions being thrown at them, it looked as if they had started realizing that Party is now as important as Government.

For those who had enjoyed enormous clout in the Party, like Ambika Soni who later chose to move to the Government, it must have been an eye opener. Sitting there in the Nainital meeting, she must have realized that being in her powerful position in the party was a better choice than “lording” over the staid Culture and Tourism ministries. Coming back to the working relationship between Sonia and Dr. Manmohan Singh, it is evident that the two have demarcated clear roles for each other. Dr.Singh is obviously not interested in the nitty-gritties of party politics, and in fact is even prepared to go the extra distance to accommodate the wishes of the party in the Government, when it comes to appointments and even policies.

Sonia in the meanwhile has left the field clear and open for him to pursue macro issues like the nuclear deal with the USA, economic reforms, reforms in governance, and so on, while she takes care of the allies and their demands.

In the bargain she has been able to strike a perfect understanding with the Prime Minister, and at the same time, keep her party workers hopeful and enthused. It may still be early days to analyse and give this new phase in Indian politics a label. But it certainly will keep the political scientists and analysts on their toes. The cool environs of Nainital has ensured it. Nehru’s spirit may also just be watching this new experiment embarked upon by his grand daughter-in-law. And who knows if it succeeds, his great grandson may prefer to be the Congress President in future days, and not the Prime Minister!