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The Rediff Special/ Suhasini Haider

'Who says she is from Italy? She is a citizen of Amethi'

Normally, the crowds at 24 Akbar Road, the Congress Party headquarters in Delhi get this crowded only a couple of months before an election, that is, when tickets for seats are being distributed. But since Monday morning, when Congress party workers started to arrive in Delhi to show their support for Sonia Gandhi, the entire road on which the office is situated has been taken over. It is extremely convenient that the entrance to Sonia's government-allotted bungalow on 10 Janpath, which for security reasons is routed through a service lane on Akbar road itself, is a mere 100 metres from the party headquarters.

Obviously word had got around by Sunday morning, the day after the CWC meeting at which Sharad Pawar, P A Sangma, and Tariq Anwar had raised questions about Sonia's right to lead the party into an election, that 'Madam' needed a show of support. Aashiq Hussain, a general secretary in the Sultanpur district Congress party, said he had travelled all night to be in Delhi. "It isn't fair -- when Madam never wanted to be in politics, people like Sharad Pawar forced her into it. How dare they question her now?"

Hussain, along with hundreds of others has set up camp on the road outside the party office. The high point of each day is a darshan that Sonia grants to the public every evening, and as space is limited in her garden, there is a regular scuffle about who gets in. The darshan lasts about half an hour, while Sonia accepts garlands, thanks her supporters, but doesn't say much else. Photographers are allowed, but journalists are shooed away by her security. Seventy-one-year-old Jaginder Bhatti, says she has come from Sonepat (Haryana) to see Sonia, and is visibly moved by the strong emotions for Sonia within the crowds. "She is just like Indiraji (Gandhi)," she says "I hope she will be prime minister too."

Outside, the mood of many Congress workers is extremely belligerent towards Pawar, Sangma and Anwar. They feel the move by the three Congress leaders came just at the time when things had begun to look up for their party. The latest guesstimate doing Delhi's political circles gave the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party an equal number of seats (approximately 200) in the general election in September.

Also, references to Sonia's nationality and questions about how many passports she holds, which were made by the trio in their well-publicised letter to the Congress president, were much more direct than even the BJP has made in the last few weeks. "They have done the work of our enemies," says Jagat Bahadur Singh, who came on top of an overcrowded bus from the Gandhis's erstwhile constituency, Amethi. But doesn't the fact that Sonia was born and brought up as an Italian make any difference to him? "Who says she is from Italy?" he frowns, "She is a citizen of Amethi."

Others are more aggressive about Pawar, Sangma and Anwar, also known as 'Amar, Akbar, Antony' (a reference to their religions). AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes faced their ire today as he tried to leave the party office. His car was forcibly stopped by a crowd of Congressmen demanding that the trio be expelled immediately. Loud shouts and much thumping on his bonnet followed before he was allowed to drive away. "Sonia se jo takrayega, choor choor ho jayega (those who clash with Sonia will be blown to bits)," said one supporter, making a fist.

Congress MLA from Delhi, and deputy speaker of the assembly Kiran Chaudhuri acknowledges that Sonia supporters have been a bit too boisterous. "But what can they do?" she explains, "This (the trio's letter) wasn't the right way to have gone about it all. It isn't the way we do things in the Congress."

Inside the party's office complex, amongst the think-tank at the Congress, however, the mood is much more somber. Many admit, off the record, that this 'revolt' will harm the Congress. "What nobody has considered is who else has given Pawar and Co the support to take this step," says one party official, "And when he will show his hand."

One question that is big on everyone's mind is exactly what Pawar's discussions with AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha last week, which were held to discuss seat-sharing in Tamil Nadu between the two parties, actually dwelled on. "Was he speaking on behalf of the Congress then, or was it on behalf of himself?" asked one Congressman.

Some even snigger that he might have been taking tips from the southern leader on how to wield control over the central government by being a regional power. In fact, probably to contain any damage caused by all the developments, Sonia reportedly sent off a letter to Jayalalitha yesterday, explaining that the Congress will be back to discuss an alliance with her as soon as it has tided over the "ongoing crisis".

Nobody just how long this crisis will take, now that Sonia has resigned, and according to party spokesman Ajit Jogi, is not inclined to reconsider her decision. However party insiders hope she will make some sort of comeback on May 21, the eighth death anniversary of her husband Rajiv Gandhi. Until then, the crowds milling outside her and the party offices' door are unlikely to recede.

The Rediff Specials

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