Manmohan at the fore does it for Congress

The media was waiting for the top leader of the party at 10 Janpath, the oficial residence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi. But Gandhi asked Manmohan Singh to face the camera and microphones first, while stepping back a few steps. This was the symbolic picture of the Congress’ victory in this election.

For the Congress, a party where prime ministers have been more important political entities than its presidents, the last five years have seen a significant change.

While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concentrated on the administration of the government, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi managed the politics of the party. This combination worked well to guide the party back to victory in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Among the five key swing states, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa and West Bengal, the Congress routed the Left from Kerala by winning 15 out of 20 seats. The UPA managed to hold its fort in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and defeated the Left in West Bengal. It also improved its tally in two large states —  Rajasthan (20 seats) and Madhya Pradesh (11 seats).

Congress leaders point out that this Lok Sabha victory is very significant in terms of organisational aspects. While many veteran leaders of the party had resigned themselves to coalition politics, Rahul Gandhi had been advocating selective dumping of allies and going alone in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and a close friend of Rahul Gandhi, today revealed that the young Gandhi had told him that the Congress had no prospect if it couldn’t fight on its own in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Gandhi’s move finally paid dividend, as the Congress bagged 21 crucial seats in UP.

His mother and he also played a significant role in roping in Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, overruling the opposition of many state leaders. Congress sources claimed Sonia Gandhi had even snubbed Pranab Mukherjee, the party veteran who was initially not keen on the alliance, and made him fall in line.

As the party launched its campaign on the sole agenda of the Manmohan Singh government’s performance, both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi broke the tradition and for the first time, a non-Gandhi family member was announced as the party’s prime ministerial candidate. Even when a large section of the Congress leaders opposed risking the government for the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement, both stood by the prime minister and forced the party to back him. The trust has finally yielded results, as Singh emerges as the third Congress prime minister after Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi to retain power in two successive elections.