NEW DELHI. May 4: The Congress (1) Friday reaffirmed its commitment to the welfare of minorities and inclusion of socially and educationally backward among them In the list of backward classes, reports PTT.

The Congress (I) reiteration came within hours of Imam Bukhari pledging sup Kto the Janata Dal and the parties in the coming elections.

An AJCC-I release promised to give statutory status to the Minorities Commission review of the Waqf Act of 1954 . raise a composite rapid action force to quell communal riots, oper ate special courts to try communal offences and Identify riot-prone areas.

Another reports says Scorpions will not cr;*wl nor serpents slither across news paper pages this time round. The mood of fierce aggressive ness that had characterised the Congress (I) s 1989 election campaign is diluted, palpably. to one of hesitancy A mood of tentativeness has gripped the party And caution is the keyword.

The difference is evident. The confidence of 1989 has given way to confusion. In fact, the Congress (I) is yet to find an answer to the electorally-lethal Mandal and Mandir missiles. Even Congress (!) leaders admit these two issues have penetrated deep Into the popular psyche. "We arc not against Mandal. " hedges party General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad . " Our state gov-

emments in the south ensured 60 per cent reservations ' He adds defiantly :The custodian of the backwards to not V P Singh but the Congress(l) .' For all the bluster, however, it to too late in the day for the Congress (I) to cash in on the reservation issue.

The party s stand on the Mandir issue is equally ambtva lent.lt to not quite sure on which side of the Ayodhya shrine it should sit. With the Muslims still alienated from the Congress(l). Rajtv is not confident of taking the BJP bull by its horns if that means distancing upper caste Hindus as well. Thus, already in the thick of electioneering Najtv is' still unsure about the efficacy of the issues he is raising.

In the midst of this dilemma, the only feasible electoral plank left for party strategist is stability . They are projecting Rattv as the "only choice'. And the party prest dent himself emphasises that after the Janata Dal fias<<> It Is only the Congress (I) monolith under him that can provide stability. To his credit, he has proved that even without the trappings of power, he has retained his crowd-pulling abtl ity. He has already addressed huge rallies in half-a-dozen states.

But fresh trouble to cropping up for him. Bansi lai's expulsion from the party and his subsequent alignment with the National Front have made all 10 Haryana scats unsafe for the Congressfl). In Gujrat. the BJP is making political capital of M J Akbar's controversial remarks about Sardar Patel in a recent book Says a senior Congress (1) leader "Local sentiments are being aroused on the plea that the Congress (I) has failed to con demn Patel’s humiliation.''

Clearly, it’s not going to be plain sailing for the Congress (i). The party is considering modifying its stand on the cm cial issue of reservations in its election manifesto. The manifesto — much sHmmcr than the last time's unwieldy 64

pages will highlight four major points; stability, employment. price rise and India's diminishing prestige in the in ternational arena It is. however. doubtful whetlier any of these issues will prove powerful enough to counter ihe BJP's Hindu nationalism or VP Singh's caste-based reservations.

That Rajtv is finding the going tough is apparent from his move to woo both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Chimanbhai Patel. Had he been reasonably

certain of popular support in Uttar Pradesh, he would not have gone out of his way to befriend Yadav in the face of stiff opposition from senior party leaders.

One positive outcome of this sense of enervation is that Rajiv is depending more on seasoned party Hands Instead of on personal friends. This time, there is no Mani Shankar Aiycr fixing his itinerary. It's political secretary. Jeetendra Prasad, who is preparing hls tour programme, based on

suggestions by state party leaders. Former finance minister. Pranab Mukherjee, apart from being involved in drafting the manifesto, is also advls Ing Rajiv on economic issues. And AICC (I) general secretaries are holding talks with state leaders about candidate selection

The party's decision to decentralise the entire publicity business has also curbed the influence of Rajiv groupies like Visvajlt Prithvljit Singh and SS Ahluwalia.