The walk for Sonia Gandhi from Lok Sabha to Rajya Sabha in the new Parliament building is a short one but signifies giant strides for her and her party.
Gandhi has the distinction of not losing a single election, ever since she made her electoral debut in 1999. To her achievement also goes the fact that she dimmed the ‘India Shining’ campaign of the Vajpayee government and secured a win twice over for UPA. As long as she was Congress president, she had an iron grip over the party and also the government. But as scams began to tumble out, not even Gandhi’s best efforts could keep the BJP away in 2019. The rest is history.
But what does Sonia Gandhi’s transition from Lok Sabha to Rajya Sabha imply? First, the vulnerability of the Congress in Raebareli. Insider reports had made it clear that a fight from Raebareli would not be a cakewalk. After a win in Amethi, the BJP has sent a clear message — that it will not be generous in the Gandhi bastions. It’s quite possible that the BJP fields a strong candidate, or at least ensures that it gives a tough run in case a Gandhi sibling consists from Raebareli.
As Sonia Gandhi filed her Rajya Sabha nomination, the BJP said she had chickened out of a Lok Sabha fight. BJP’s Amit Malviya posted on X: “After Congress’ crushing defeat in Amethi, Raebareli was next. Sonia Gandhi’s decision to opt for Rajya Sabha is an admission of a looming defeat.”
But those who know Sonia Gandhi, know she loves a fight. It was her single-minded determination to take on the BJP which made her reach out to unlikely allies like the DMK and NCP.
In the just-concluded Parliament session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the fiercest attacks on the Congress. And gone was his reticence in taking on Sonia Gandhi — he kept looking at her while attacking the Grand Old Party. In Rajya Sabha, where the INDIA front — or whatever is left of it — is in larger numbers, Sonia Gandhi may be called upon to play the same role she did in 2004.
But what’s the Congress plan in Raebareli? Congress has rejected BJP’s charge that Sonia Gandhi would have lost from the bastion. The party could now be planning a battle for Priyanka Vadra. When Rahul Gandhi decided to contest in 2004, Sonia Gandhi vacated Amethi and shifted to Raebareli. It’s quite possible that’s what she has planned to do now for daughter Priyanka. But despite the SP-Congress alliance, the Grand Old Party is a little wary. It cannot afford a defeat at any cost in case Priyanka Vadra makes her poll debut.
The Rajya Sabha will now have both the former and present Congress presidentd. But Sonia Gandhi’s good relations with many of her new colleagues in the Rajya Sabha may call upon her to ensure that her experience in stitching alliances comes in handy to mend the tears in the INDIA bloc.
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