After Rajiv’s death, UK doubted Sonia’s leadership abilities
LONDON: Hours after Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in May 1991, top officials in London doubted his widow Sonia Gandhi’s ability to hold the Congress party together because of her “political inexperience and Italian origin”, declassified British government files released on Thursday show. Gandhi was assassinated mid-way through the 1991 general election by an LTTE suicide bomber, triggering political waves in New Delhi and a sympathy vote for the Congress.
Percy Cradock, a senior diplomat who worked at Downing Street, presented an assessment of the situation in a confidential note to JS Wall, private secretary to then Prime Minister John Major, describing Gandhi’s death as “the end of an era” in India.
“The Congress Party has moved quickly to elect Gandhi’s widow, Sonia, as their new President. But her political inexperience and Italian origin ill equip her to hold the disparate elements of the party together. The party has no other potential leader with the qualifications to replace Gandhi. Its election campaign had been built around his personal appeal,” Cradock wrote.
“Opinion polls have indicated that Congress Party will gain seats in the election, but not necessarily an overall majority. The party might now benefit from a sympathy vote; and if it does not win outright, other parties might find it easier to join a coalition without Gandhi.”
Cradock recalled the economic crisis facing India in 1991 and said any delay in voting due to Gandhi’s death could be serious.
No party won a majority in the 1991 election but the Congress led by PV Narasimha Rao formed a minority government that remained in office for a full five-year term.
The Prince of Wales and foreign secretary Douglas Hurd attended Gandhi’s funeral in New Delhi, while Major visited India House in London to pay condolences.