Ah, The Lady

I recall being on a TV show with Arun Jaitley as word first came that India Shining had been thrown out by the aam aadmi. He was crestfallen but hopeful: Sonia would become prime minister and his party would tear her to bits. He could hardly wait for the face-off. As we were warming up for the studio discussion, we heard of Sushma Swaraj's threat of shaving her head if the Italian lady became PM, while sundry BJP leaders announced a nationwide agitation. The savvy Jaitley put his hand in his head and said, "Fools." The BJP desperately wanted Sonia to become prime minister.

Why does Mrs Gandhi excite such extreme rage in Messrs Advani, Jaitley, Mahajan, Swaraj—her Italian passport and Quattrocchi notwithstanding? Why are they so furiously indignant? Why, when it comes to the lady, do they lose all calm and coherence? I think I have the answer. This greenhorn politician, this simple housewife, this political neophyte, this non-Hindi speaking novice, this pretender-neta has run rings around the seasoned managers, the brilliant election planners, the sons-of-the soil, the expert caste balancers.

First, they failed to promote a rift between 10, Janpath and 7, Race Course Road as two rival centres of power. The fissure never materialised. If anything, the Sonia-Manmohan relationship is working quite well. Now the Office of Profit resignation. Whether it's sacrifice or compulsion, bogus drama or high commitment, tactically the amateur has defeated the pros. It's like Monty Panesar claiming the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. Whichever side you are on in this debate, it is hugely entertaining as a spectacle.