# NEWS REEL ….. POLITICAL – 447. * Sonia Gandhi evades the BJP trap – 002 Rahul will thus not be solely blamed in the event of a debacle in this summers general election. That will be a huge advantage when the Congress partys first family struggles to keep the party intact in the not-so-sunny days ahead. If Rahul is not declared the Candidate there will also not be questions directed at the familys capacity to win votes for the party -- the most essential quality to keep a grip over the Congress. Secondly, the 128-year-old party can proclaim that it chose not to violate tradition even for the heir of the Gandhi dynasty. Except in 2009, when Dr Manmohan Singh was declared its prime ministerial candidate ahead of the general election, the Congress has depended on elected MPs to select their prime minister after an election, whenever it had an opportunity to form the government. The Congress can now claim it believes in parliamentary democracy and is giving its elected MPs the option to select their leader if the situation arises to form a government. Another advantage of Rahuls remaining one rung below the coveted prime ministerial candidate position is that the partys old guard will still have its say in running the Congress and in shaping vital political policies. The end of the Sonia Gandhi era will thus be a little less troublesome. The transition of power from Sonias office at 10, Janpath to Rahuls office at Tughlaq Lane will be less jerky. Also, likely allies like Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar will not have issues to remain in the Congress-led alliance before or after the election. Pawar, it is known, has deep reservations about working under Rahul.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 07:31:21 +0000