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Congress Gropes for Direction under Sonia

Binoo K. John writes from New Delhi
***The political cul de sac in which the party finds itself has been worrying many Congress members who feel that the party 'lacks a sense of direction." Confusion regarding policy also extends to which segment of a particular state's population should the party target. Voting in India is generally along caste lines.***
AS frenetic talks were under way in Delhi on the future of politics and government in Bihar. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was watching a classical dance performance in Khajuraho. Madhya Pradesh.
By the time she returned to Delhi the next day on March 3. a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had been sworn in Patna. It had been within her reach to quickly put together a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led government in Bihar by clearing support to Laloo Prasad Yadav's party a few hours before she actually did.
Mohslna Kidwai. Congress general secretary in charge of Bihar affairs, later said the developments in the state had nothing to do with the timing of the Congress decision.
But. whatever the reason. Gandhi had lost yet another opportunity to prove that as Congress president she can move swiftly, cut through the maze of options to act decisively and show a clear direction to the party.
Many senior party leaders are getting worried. "I do feel there has to be a rethink on sev-
eral policy matters. This introspection must translate into action. Unless this is done the downslide of the party' may continue." said Kapil Sibal. former Congress spokesman and Member of Parliament.
Matang Singh, a Congress dissident who was last week removed from the party, said this "operational botch’-up" in Bihar alone would be enough to serve as a rallying point for other dissidents within the party.
C.K. Jaffer Sharief. former Union Minister and senior Congress leader from Kar-nataKa. told Gandhi in a private meeting this week that she must convene a conclave of party leaders to do a rethink on party strategy after recent setbacks.
The confusion In the
Congress about its role in Bihar is indicative of a wobbly, unsure and seemingly disinterested way of taking policy decisions.
In last year's general election. the Congress went into an alliance with the RJD only to pull out after the polis in which the combine fared poorly. After the Assembly polls last 'month, the party Is now back with the RJD.
In other states like Haryana too. dithering and flip-flops have cost the party dearly.
The dilemma' within the Congress Is how to position itself as a secular party when in many cruc ial, large slates hk< Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, regional groups have already occupied that political space, as recent election results clearly show.
The result is that even if there is an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or anti-incumbency vote in many states, the Congress is not positioned to lap up those votes.
This political cul de sac in which the party finds itself has been worrying many Congress members who feel that the party "lacks a sense of direction."
Confusion regarding policy also extends to which segment of a particular state's population should the party target. Voting in India is generally along caste Unes.
In some states it tries to woo the higher caste. In other states the socially disadvantaged and m still others, like Orissa, the large number of tribal voters. In West Bengal, the party Is not sure whether it has to move
closer to the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) or the emerging Trlnamool Congress.
Overall, the Congress is groping for direction on what attitude it should take to coalition politics, which all other partiu* Jiave accepted as a reality in India. Even its highest decision-making forum, the Congress Working Committee (CWC). does not agree on whether the party should stitch together political alliances or plough a lonely furrow.
There is a phalanx of leaders and committees to advise Gandhi but too there is division of opinion, landing the Congress president in a quandary more often than not.
Leaders like Sharief say there is no organised system of taking decisions and have de-
manded that a "coterie" which surrounds Gandhi be disbanded.
Gandhi loyalists, however, feel nobody can question her hold over the party. "The unity of the party is not in doubt. It was in full evidence at the rally in Delhi. There is no question of any dissident activity gaining ground." said Priyaranjan Das Munshi. senior Congress Member of Parliament.
In the massive Delhi rally on Monday. Gandhi engaged in fiery rhetoric, saying the BJP-led NDA government was trying to subvert the country's "culture, unity and Constitution".
During the rally near the famous Jama Masjid, the muezzin's call to prayer was drowning out her speech. When she realised it. Gandhi announced she was stopping her speech for two minutes so that the large number of Muslims in the crowd could pray. She also quickly covered her head with the flowing end of her saree.
Winning over crowds with such gestures may help, but the party needs something more decisive at the moment, insid-
— India Abroad News Service