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CONGRESS (I) SPLIT BREAKAWAYS
TO FORM NEW PARTY
Three senior Congress (I) leaders who questioned
the Italian-origin of the party president Sonia Gandhi were
expelled last week leading to a split in the party. Sharad
Pawar, P.A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar wrote a letter which said
that in a country of a billion was it necessary for the Congress
(I) president be the choice of Prime Minister in the forthcoming
elections. Gandhi, the wife of the late Prime Minister Rajiv
Gandhi and an Italian by birth, resigned as the party president
in protest.
This led to a wave of demonstrations all over
the country with Congress (I) members prostrating themselves
outside the Gandhi residence, shaving their heads, and getting
into fisticuffs with the rebel factions in the Congress. But
all their sycophancy failed to get Sonia Gandhi to change
her stance and she stood firm by her decision to resign for
around a week. At the time of writing, Congress (I) members
had after a lot of persuasion managed to get her to take back
her resignation and continue as the party president. She said
that she made a comeback because of the affection that the
entire Congress had showered on her after she resigned. Pawar
called the drama of her resignation a tactic to generate the
nation's sympathy.
Meanwhile, the broom has been sweeping clean
as other senior leaders who supported the rebel troika all
over the country have also been expelled from the Congress
(I).
The crisis has sparked off a national media
debate about the Constitutional position on a foreigner standing
as a Prime Ministerial candidate. The Congress (I) is also
scheduled to have a general session this week to try and undo
all the damage that has been done to the party. The BJP-led
government has also strengthened the security that has been
offered to Sonia Gandhi as her party members have yelped that
there is a threat to her life.
The rebel faction is likely to work together
to form a Third Front with other political parties in the
run up to the elections. Its leader Pawar says he will have
no truck with the BJP or the Congress. The BJP-led government
has announced that it will incorporate the issue of a foreigner
leading India into its national election agenda.
Political observers believe that the latest
developments are likely to lead to a fractured mandate in
the coming elections. Neither will the Congress (I) be in
a position to get a majority, nor will the BJP, nor will the
Third Front. The country is headed for another phase of coalition
politics, meaning uncertain governance. If this happens, the
passage of a comprehensive broadcasting legislation will be
nigh impossible for any party that occupies the government.
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