Surely, I cannot be the only mediaperson squirming in my humble seat as reams and reams of newsprint and television footage confirm that the lady is drawing huge crowds—which get huger by the day. Remember, it was not so long ago, 30 days actually, when leader writers, pundits, political soothsayers and even honourable field reporters insisted that a) the lady would never take the plunge, and b) even if she did, she would make little or no difference to the rapidly sinking Congress fortunes. I am not excluding myself from culpability, but it is deeply embarrassing for all of us who instruct the nation on a daily or weekly basis to be shown up as bungling novices.
It is no use saying we had been misled by the solitary picture-book she has authored and jumped to false conclusions. (That one sentence about keeping Rajiv out now has a haunting ring: "I fought like a tigress—for him, for us and our children, for the life we had made together, his flying which he loved, our uncomplicated, easy friendships and, above all, our freedom: that simple human right that we had so carefully and consistently preserved.") It is no use saying Sonia actually detests politics but has been compelled by a set of circumstances which were beyond anticipation—surely, it is our job to expect the unexpected? Moreover, while we can conceivably be forgiven for failing to predict her entry into the public arena, can we be forgiven for getting the impact of that entry so utterly and completely wrong?
What is even more discomfiting for us is the fact that all the so-called liabilities we eagerly and enthusiastically totted up and forwarded to our unsuspecting readers as definitive facts are turning out to be her assets. We said that since she was excruciatingly shy, she would fumble and fret on public platforms, making a spectacle of herself. Precisely the opposite has happened. Sonia is not only enjoying the experience of addressing vast multitudes, she seems supremely self-confident and self-assured. From the body language to the by-now-trademark hand wave, she displays the gregariousness and aplomb of a filmstar.
We said she couldn't speak the language (or two languages to be precise) adequately, so naturally she would have difficulty communicating. Precisely the opposite has happened. Such is her current poise that she has switched from heavily accented Italian-English to near-chaste Hindi. In both patois she has the crowds hanging on to every word she utters. No doubt, she makes laconic speeches—is the script being written by some Bollywood dialogue ustad?—but no one in the crowd appears to be complaining about the long wait for the heavenly helicopter and the subsequent fleeting darshan; if anything, the brevity helps to make the message more memorable.
We said she was exceedingly vulnerable because she was a foreigner, and that the opposition would have a field day assailing her on the question of birth. Precisely the opposite has happened. Any party which attacks Sonia on her origins (this has been established by all opinion polls) is actually helping her garner the sympathy vote.It seems the last thing the Indian electorate wants to hear are slogans threatening imminent 'Rome Raj'. The BJP has shrewdly realised the danger and changed its line of attack. The problem is the party is finding it enormously difficult to assemble fresh ammunition to demolish an essentially "family tamasha" which has many emotional but few political overtones.
And, finally, examine the campaign; its audacity verges on recklessness. She stands conventional wisdom on its head. Apology for Bluestar, apology for Babri Masjid, frank admission of Congress lapses and leadership infirmities, no tickets for Narasimha Rao and the Delhi 1984 goon brigade. I am not suggesting that the Sikhs and the Muslims are about to forgive the Congress and vote for the party en masse, but when you consider that the two apologies amount to conceding disastrous judgemental errors on behalf of her husband and mother-in-law, you will understand why Messrs Advani and Vajpayee are scratching their heads and asking: what is the lady up to?
What is the basis of her hold on the popular imagination? One has to tread carefully here avoiding spurious psychology and intellectual gobbledygook. I can offer only two explanations, neither of them startlingly original and, therefore, slightly banal.
The first concerns the mystique, aura and prestige of the Nehru-Indira-Rajiv family. Despite metropolitan cynicism regarding this family, despite Indira and Rajiv's assaults on democratic institutions, despite prolonged misgovernance and personal corruption of mother and son, the family constitutes national icons. This may be an unpalatable truth to accept, but accept we must. Sonia Gandhi is perceived as a direct link to that family which, especially for the India which is marginalised, remains a potent symbol of hope. (Note how the crowds swell as Sonia moves into rural and tribal areas.)
All of which explains why already enthused and delighted multitudes break into total frenzy when Priyanka utters a few words or waves: she, even more than Sonia, is seen as a blood-link to the hallowed family.
The second reason centres around the notion of sacrifice. Sonia's understanding of the Indian psyche may be tenuous, but she knows that in this country personal sacrifice is seen as the highest form of public service. Not for nothing does the "desh ki bahu" repeat in meeting after meeting that she lost both her mother-in-law and her husband in the "nation's cause". That she lost them to the terrorist's bullet—terrorists determined to disrupt the unity of India—makes her appeal so much more poignant. How many such widows can the BJP present to the public?
Whether Sonia Gandhi's exertions will help the Congress get 10 or 30 or no extra seats, only time will tell. Meanwhile, she has given all of us who pretend to write on current affairs with near divine infallibility a lesson in humility. Professional journalists must surely profit from that lesson.
