Congress is unsure who its mascot is
Senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi's remark that the dual power centre of the Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh partnership can be a model for the future, is being erroneously seen as an endorsement of a third term for Mr Singh if the Congress returns to power after the next lok Sabha election. In reality, the Congress general secretary and head of the party’s media department has subtly shielded heir apparent Rahul Gandhi from being pitted — at least for now — against a formidable rival from the BJP, possibly Mr Narendra Modi. The Congress knows that Mr Gandhi stands little chance before the Chief Minister of Gujarat, in terms of either perception or performance, and that it would be foolhardy for the party to expose him at this stage to a handicap that can only grow as the election approaches. But, given the clamour within the Congress for Mr Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate, Mr Dwivedi's remark cannot be taken at face value or even be considered definitive. From the time Mr Gandhi was elevated as the party's vice president in January, the buzz has been that he will now play a more active role in the party's affairs and even agree to be projected as the prime ministerial candidate. Yet, the Congress scion has repeatedly refused to lead from the front. It is possible that Mr Gandhi will change his opinion in the months to come. Meanwhile, Mr Dwivedi's statement must also be seen in the context of an earlier remark that came from another senior party leader, Mr Digvijaya Singh, who had bluntly said that the dual power model had been an utter failure. In doing so, he had not only cast aspersions on the functional freedom of the Prime Minister but also implicitly stated the country's worst kept secret: That Ms Gandhi controls not just the party but also the Government which is nominally led by Mr Manmohan Singh. This came as a huge embarrassment to the Congress which has been at its wit's end in perennially trying to disabuse the notion that such is really the case. Mr Dwivedi had to, therefore, step in to ‘set the record straight'. But even so, it would be fallacious to interpret his praise of the dual-power model as an endorsement of the Prime Minister. It must be understood that he has complimented the model and not Mr Singh. In other words, the Congress seems open to a similar model of dual power-sharing with another prime ministerial candidate. If that is the case, we may see the emergence of a Manmohan Singh-like nominal figure that will be subservient to the Sonia-Rahul combine which, as always, will have power without accountability.
The problem for the Congress is that such a scenario is unlikely to emerge. The people have had enough of a Prime Minister who is remote-controlled by his party president. They are looking to vote for a party which has a leader of substance; a leader with a track record of governance. If the Congress is unable to throw up such a figure in the run-up to the lok Sabha election, it will face an electoral disaster. This is not to say that the projection of Mr Gandhi as the prime ministerial choice will ensure victory for the party. Mr Gandhi may not be shackled in the manner that the incumbent Prime Minister is, but he comes with his own set of problems that are only too well known to need repetition.