SONIA GANDHI

December 9, 1946

When Sonia Gandhi declared that she would not become Prime Minister in 2004, she left Congress MPs weeping. But it was a smart decision that finished off the “foreign birth” issue and allowed Dr Manmohan Singh, who had unmatched experience of government, to take office. A grateful Singh did not object when Sonia pushed through her pet projects including the Right of Information Act, the employment guarantee scheme and a write-off of farmers’ loans. The arrangement worked so well that the Congress increased its tally in the 2009 elections. But then, things went wrong. Sonia fell ill and went off abroad for treatment. Manmohan Singh believed that the 2009 victory was due to his personal popularity and become an arrogant, distant, aloof figure to his colleagues. When the corruption scandals exploded, nobody in the UPA knew how to cope. Dr Singh held his breath and tried to pretend that he was invisible. Sonia took the line that if she sacked everyone against whom a single allegation of impropriety had been raised, the government would seem clean. In fact, the opposite happened. The public treated the resignations as proof that the charges were valid, even when they were not. To this day, the Congress has still to rid itself of the taint that it led a government of the corrupt. In the Modi period, new health problems (she was dropped from a stretcher and broke her shoulder) and a desire to let control pass to her son Rahul have held Sonia back. But, as the elections approach, there is no doubt that she will return to the front lines to lead the Opposition.