There is a clear power shift in the Congress. That was all too evident at the iftar dinner hosted by party president Sonia Gandhi at a Delhi five-star hotel on Monday.
In sharp contrast to previous events of this nature, it was not Sonia Gandhi who was cynosure of all eye but the Congress party’s heir apparent and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi sat on separate tables but the throng of media persons and party workers milling around the Nehru-Gandhi scion was a clear sign of things to come.
Sonia Gandhi’s table saw far fewer people but the sparse attention she got as compared to her son did not faze her. She laughed off a remark by a media person that the crowd at Rahul Gandhi’s table was a signal that he ought to take over as party president at the earliest. “Why don’t you push him to do so,” she replied with a smile.
Intense debate
Rahul Gandhi’s anointment as party chief has been a subject of intense debate and discussion in the Congress. There were initially doubts among party cadres about his leadership capabilities after the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat in the last Lok Sabha elections last year. However, there has been a growing acceptance in the party rank and file about Rahul Gandhi’s eventual elevation, especially after he returned from his two-month sabbatical in February in a new aggressive avatar.
Appearing relaxed, Rahul Gandhi told press persons that he may speak in Parliament on corruption to pin down the ruling alliance but was not sure if the prime minister will do the same. “That is his prerogative,” he added.
Though there were fewer people stopping by at Sonia Gandhi’s table but the impressive gathering at the iftar dinner must have afforded her immense satisfaction. Ashoka Hotel’s cavernous Convention Hall was brimming over with party leaders and invitees. Leaders of almost all opposition parties, including its erstwhile partners, put in an appearance as the primary objective of Monday’s iftar dinner was to showcase larger opposition unity before next week’s monsoon session of Parliament.
Obvious shift
It was a different story last year when the Congress president hosted her first iftar after the party’s electoral rout. The attendance had been particularly thin then while most leaders of “like-minded and secular” parties had stayed away, underlining the altered political equations. There were several notable absentees even from the party’s own ranks: Rahul Gandhi’s favorites like Madhusudan Mistry, CP Joshi and Mohan Prakash did not show up.
While the Congress office bearers and its state leaders were present in full strength this time, the party’s secular friends also dropped in, though the Samajwadi Party was conspicuous by its absence.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, the latest entrant to the secular fold, was given pride of place at Sonia Gandhi’s table. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee did not attend but she was represented by the party’s Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien who was also seated next to the Congress president.
Former United Progressive Alliance partner, Nationalist Congress Party head Sharad Pawar made a surprise entry although his party was already well represented by Praful Patel and DP Tripathi. The NCP had severed its ties with the Congress before last year’s assembly elections in Maharashtra and the two have been on a collision course since then. It is only recently that the NCP approached the Congress with the offer of floor coordination in the Maharashtra assembly. This growing proximity in the state is expected to be reflected at the national level as well since the Congress has taken the initiative to bring together opposition parties in its effort to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government.
Mulayam fails to respond
Though Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav had made it known that he would not attend because of prior commitments, his party was represented by Premchand Gupta and Jai Prakash Yadav. The Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Mishra was present but Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayum Singh Yadav’s failed to respond to Sonia Gandhi’s invitation. Their absence was the talking point through the evening as senior Congress leaders were themselves surprised at their absence.
Besides the NCP, the presence of two other former allies – the National Conference and the DMK – fuelled speculation that the United Progressive Alliance was showing signs of regrouping. That well may be long way off but the presence of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and DMK’s Kanimozhi, both seated at Rahul Gandhi’s table, did suggest that they are willing to engage with the Congress once again despite their bitter falling out.
The line-up of opposition parties was significant as this show of unity comes a week before the opening of the monsoon session of Parliament, which is expected to witness a slugfest between the ruling alliance and its political opponents.
All set to confront the Modi government on the recent controversies that engulfed the ruling alliance, the opposition will focus on the Vyapam scam and the mysterious deaths connected with it to demand the resignation of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Similarly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje are in the crosshairs for the help they extended to economic offender Lalit Modi. Above all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will find himself in the firing line as the opposition will question his silence on the conduct of his ministers and chief ministers and his determined bid to protect them despite repeated demands for the resignation of Chouhan, Raje and Swaraj.
In sharp contrast to previous events of this nature, it was not Sonia Gandhi who was cynosure of all eye but the Congress party’s heir apparent and vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi sat on separate tables but the throng of media persons and party workers milling around the Nehru-Gandhi scion was a clear sign of things to come.
Sonia Gandhi’s table saw far fewer people but the sparse attention she got as compared to her son did not faze her. She laughed off a remark by a media person that the crowd at Rahul Gandhi’s table was a signal that he ought to take over as party president at the earliest. “Why don’t you push him to do so,” she replied with a smile.
Intense debate
Rahul Gandhi’s anointment as party chief has been a subject of intense debate and discussion in the Congress. There were initially doubts among party cadres about his leadership capabilities after the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat in the last Lok Sabha elections last year. However, there has been a growing acceptance in the party rank and file about Rahul Gandhi’s eventual elevation, especially after he returned from his two-month sabbatical in February in a new aggressive avatar.
Appearing relaxed, Rahul Gandhi told press persons that he may speak in Parliament on corruption to pin down the ruling alliance but was not sure if the prime minister will do the same. “That is his prerogative,” he added.
Though there were fewer people stopping by at Sonia Gandhi’s table but the impressive gathering at the iftar dinner must have afforded her immense satisfaction. Ashoka Hotel’s cavernous Convention Hall was brimming over with party leaders and invitees. Leaders of almost all opposition parties, including its erstwhile partners, put in an appearance as the primary objective of Monday’s iftar dinner was to showcase larger opposition unity before next week’s monsoon session of Parliament.
Obvious shift
It was a different story last year when the Congress president hosted her first iftar after the party’s electoral rout. The attendance had been particularly thin then while most leaders of “like-minded and secular” parties had stayed away, underlining the altered political equations. There were several notable absentees even from the party’s own ranks: Rahul Gandhi’s favorites like Madhusudan Mistry, CP Joshi and Mohan Prakash did not show up.
While the Congress office bearers and its state leaders were present in full strength this time, the party’s secular friends also dropped in, though the Samajwadi Party was conspicuous by its absence.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, the latest entrant to the secular fold, was given pride of place at Sonia Gandhi’s table. Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee did not attend but she was represented by the party’s Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien who was also seated next to the Congress president.
Former United Progressive Alliance partner, Nationalist Congress Party head Sharad Pawar made a surprise entry although his party was already well represented by Praful Patel and DP Tripathi. The NCP had severed its ties with the Congress before last year’s assembly elections in Maharashtra and the two have been on a collision course since then. It is only recently that the NCP approached the Congress with the offer of floor coordination in the Maharashtra assembly. This growing proximity in the state is expected to be reflected at the national level as well since the Congress has taken the initiative to bring together opposition parties in its effort to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government.
Mulayam fails to respond
Though Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav had made it known that he would not attend because of prior commitments, his party was represented by Premchand Gupta and Jai Prakash Yadav. The Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Mishra was present but Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayum Singh Yadav’s failed to respond to Sonia Gandhi’s invitation. Their absence was the talking point through the evening as senior Congress leaders were themselves surprised at their absence.
Besides the NCP, the presence of two other former allies – the National Conference and the DMK – fuelled speculation that the United Progressive Alliance was showing signs of regrouping. That well may be long way off but the presence of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah and DMK’s Kanimozhi, both seated at Rahul Gandhi’s table, did suggest that they are willing to engage with the Congress once again despite their bitter falling out.
The line-up of opposition parties was significant as this show of unity comes a week before the opening of the monsoon session of Parliament, which is expected to witness a slugfest between the ruling alliance and its political opponents.
All set to confront the Modi government on the recent controversies that engulfed the ruling alliance, the opposition will focus on the Vyapam scam and the mysterious deaths connected with it to demand the resignation of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Similarly, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje are in the crosshairs for the help they extended to economic offender Lalit Modi. Above all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will find himself in the firing line as the opposition will question his silence on the conduct of his ministers and chief ministers and his determined bid to protect them despite repeated demands for the resignation of Chouhan, Raje and Swaraj.
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