Congress leader and sometime rebel Shashi Tharoor met the incumbent Congress President Sonia Gandhi recently, and has apparently got her “nod” to contest the party’s presidential polls slated for 17 October. This line itself is pretty revelatory about how the Congress runs, if candidates need the High Command’s nod to throw their hat in the ring. Having said this, the said nod could lead to the party’s first election (as opposed to a selection) in over two decades. The buzz is that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot may also be contesting, and if he does, he will have the Gandhis’ blessings along with the official “nod”. However Gehlot is not too keen to relinquish his current job so his candidature is still a work in progress. In the meantime, we have state unit after state unit issuing resolutions asking that Rahul Gandhi should step in as the party chief. Rahul, however, has not shown any interest to ride this Trojan horse as he treks across South India, taking part in boat races and selfie sprees with a public that seems ready to engage. Clearly, before a takeover, he has a makeover to do.
Shashi Tharoor’s candidature has stirred media interest for he always makes news, both domestically and internationally, both in the mainstream media and on social media. He certainly knows how to coin the right phrase, but what the Congress needs right now is not just an articulate voice but also a strategist’s mind.
While Tharoor does not have enough experience to craft a Congress comeback, he could stymie the exodus and build the optics of a party trying to do the right thing. For there is little doubt that whether it is Tharoor or Gehlot as the party chief, the Gandhis will remain in control. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is already handling organisational affairs from an office at Ten Janpath with K.C. Venugopal, General Secretary (Organisation) and a key Rahul aide by her side, while Rahul is busy with his Bharat Jodo yatra. In the meantime, they need someone to fill the gap and both Tharoor or Gehlot will fill the billboard quite nicely.
Sonia Gandhi has come a long way after P.V. Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri tried to hijack her husband’s party. She will put in enough checks and balances to ensure that whoever wins the election is not given a free hand and will also be aware that this is a temporary placement.
Given that this is the job criteria, Tharoor may fit the vacancy better than Gehlot, for the former is not an organisational man. Like Dr Manmohan Singh, he is a professional with global recognition and has a life beyond party affairs (think of all those Lit Fests and seminars that would be lost without the Tharooresque presence).
Gehlot, on the other hand, may not have the ambition to take over the party, but he has enough organisational connect and street smarts to feed an inclination if it strikes him at any point. Yet the Gandhis trust him more than Tharoor for don’t forget that the latter is part of the G-23 group.
Moreover, they need Gehlot to shift to Delhi so that Rajasthan can be handed over to Sachin Pilot as has been promised to the young turk by Priyanka. The catch here is that it not easy to make Gehlot do something he doesn’t want to.
And he clearly does not want to see Sachin succeed him in Rajasthan. All in all, it’s not going to be an easy ship to steer but at least, the Congress making some moves instead of anchoring in very shallow waters.
PRIYA SAHGAL