Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has described the change of guard at the helm of the party as a moment she had been waiting for. She also said, as she passed on the mantle to party veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, that she felt truly very relieved.
It is no secret that for the last few years, while Sonia carried on with the responsibilities of leading the party, what she really wished to do, primarily because of health reasons, was to retreat from the hustle and bustle of politics. And when the moment finally did arrive recently, it marked the end of an era as it brought down the curtains on an eventful 24 years that Sonia has had in Indian politics.
Sonia's entry into politics took place on December 29, 1997, heralded by a note that was carried from her official residence 10, Janpath to the AICC headquarters next door to be delivered to then Congress president Sitaram Kesri. The brief communication conveyed Sonia's willingness to campaign for the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls that were held in early 1998. But Kesri knew the import of the message. He knew his time as party president was over.
The Italian-born bahu of the Gandhi family had entered the heat and dust of Indian politics, and senior Congress leaders still maintain that it was following years of entreaties that she had agreed to take the political plunge. However, when she finally did join active politics, it came as a surprise to the majority of Congress leaders and unsettled the party's political opponents. A few months later after a messenger had delivered her note to a stunned Kesri, Sonia replaced him as Congress president.
The 76-year-old Sonia proved to be a remarkable success story in Indian politics, especially since she functioned in a political and social milieu that was alien to her western sensibilities. In the beginning, she did appear a misfit, but she succeeded in cultivating an image that was a personification of Indian traditions and negotiated her way through the political maze with extraordinary common sense.
Sonia led the Congress to a surprise victory in the Lok Sabha elections in 2004. She is credited with having reached out to regional parties to form a coalition, christened the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which ruled for 10 years. Her 'sacrifice' of the prime minister's post and her decision to nominate Manmohan Singh to lead the government placed her above the fray. It was described as a master stroke by political experts, but her critics said it allowed her to be the real power centre of the ruling dispensation without accountability.
The UPA years saw the Sonia-led National Advisory Council recommend legislative measures to the government that are credited with laying down a rights-based legal framework. The NAC, however, was also described as the 'super cabinet'.
Sonia's critics say she failed to revive the party in the Hindi heartland. She is also criticised for relying too much on her coterie and failing to groom a second rung of leadership in the states. The heyday of Sonia's political stint came to an end with the victory of Narendra Modi and the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections of 2014. The Congress has since struggled to find its feet and is reeling from a series of electoral setbacks.
A transition was effected in 2017 when Sonia handed over the reins of the party to her son Rahul. However, the Congress suffered another humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, and Rahul resigned as party chief owning responsibility for the poll debacle. Sonia had to return to the helm as interim president of the party.
It has been a difficult time for the party and for the Gandhi family, which has faced increasing questions about its efficacy as effective leaders and vote catchers for the party. It is said that it was on account of the criticism that the first family of the party was perpetuating dynastic politics that Rahul refused to come back as party president and insisted that a non-Gandhi leader should lead it.
Sonia has handed over the responsibility of the party to Kharge. But her powerful presence can still be felt in the background.