The rise of Sonia Gandhi

She is at the helm of one of the biggest country in the world by sheer chance. A classic example of how the most ordinary person can go places if lady luck favours.

Sonia's stroke of good luck started when she met Rajiv Gandhi, fell in love and then married him. I am sure she had no great ambitions except to live a happy life with the man she had married.

But destiny had other plans for her. She had married into one of the most powerful families in India, the Nehru/Gandhi family. In India dynasties rule, whether in films or politics. Despite its founding fathers declaring it to be a republic, people love dynasties. A hangover of the past perhaps?

After Sonia married Rajiv, the elder son of the Prime Minsiter, Indira Gandhi there was little chance that Rajiv would come into politics. He was a commercial pilot and he was happy being that. His younger brother, Sanjay Gandhi was the politically ambitious one and was widely believed to succeed his mother.

But a plane crash in 1980 changed all that. Sanjay Gandhi died in that. A distraught mother wanted her second son to help her. Rajiv joined politics. Sonia hated that and kept away from public gaze. She was a private person and was happy being the loyal wife.

But Rajiv's assassination by the LTTE in 1991 changed things. Destiny was pushing an unambitious woman to lead her adopted nation.

After Rajiv, the Congress party was helm less. It had always depended on the Gandhi dynasty for its leadership. It had no other options. No other Congress leader was acceptable to the other top leaders. They all had prime ministerial ambitions and would pull down anyone to tried to clamber onto the top chair. This has been the bane of the party. It is steeped in dynastic traditions.

Sonia Gandhi took full advantage of this weakness of the party. After the Machiavellian Narasimha Rao was thrown out by the party, Sonia took charge. It was a tough ask. She could not speak Hindi. Her English had a strong Italian accent. But Sonia persisted.

Her chance came when the BJP made a mess of things and was voted out in 2004. Sonia wisely did not become prime minister but made Manmohan Singh the PM, a man with no mass base in the party. All this while Rahul is being groomed for the top chair. Manmohan Singh is keeping the chair warm till Rahul 'grows up'.

This could have happened only in India!

Some thoughts on Congress winning the trust vote

The left parties and the BJP have shouted themselves hoarse that the Congress party has used money to influence the trust vote in parliament recently. Well, it is true. Crores of rupees have been given to eight BJP MPs who abstained and to MPs of smaller parties and independents.

But what is wrong with that? Politicians are here for money and power. And if the only way to stay in power is to use money, then what is wrong in using it? Do you think the eight BJP MPs who abstained had any other motive than money or their future prospects in mind? What do you think? Sonia Gandhi should have invited them over for dinner and explained the advantages of the US-Nuclear Deal point by point? They would not have understood of the mumbo-jumbo! In fact, I doubt if Sonia understands it either!

The Congress was hell bent to win the trust vote, not because of strong ideological conviction that the deal is right for the country, but because facing the elections in the next 2-3 months would have been suicidal for them (what with the inflation heading northwards all the time).

Also it is clear that Sonia Gandhi has emerged as one of the most ruthless and clever politicians in India today. The way she managed to outmanouvre the combined might of the Left and BJP invites repect for her.

Politics of fuel hikes: Sonia knows best

"Govt may hike petrol prices this week, duty cut unlikely "- ZEENEWS

Government may raise petrol price by Rs 2 a litre and diesel by Re one a litre this week, but a duty rejig to minimise impact of high international crude oil prices looks unlikely.

What a fuss over such a small fuel hike! OK one understand hike in diesel prices will fan inflation; but why this hesitation over petrol?

The decision on the quantum of increase will be taken by the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, possibly later this week.
"Earlier, we were given an indication of a Cabinet meeting this (February 4) afternoon, but it is not happening today... Hope the meeting takes place soon," he said.

The delays are because Madam is against the hike. Elections are coming up in states. Moreover with things hotting up over the Nuclear Deal, even a general election is imminent. Hiking prices now would be stupid fot the Congress Party. Listen to Sonia,guys!

The official said state-run Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are together projected to lose over Rs 71,000 crore on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene this fiscal as the government has capped retail prices.

Who cares? No one is going to shed tears for the oil companies.

Last week, a Group of Ministers headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had left a decision on fuel prices to the Cabinet after the panel was split right in the middle on the issue. Petroleum Minister Murli Deora insisted on a duty cut rather than price hike, while Finance Minister P Chidambaram was of the opinion that it cannot be just one way street.

Chidambaram is a economist first, politician later. Murli Deora is only a politician.

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