An issue called Sonia

The first round of electioneering is over and, with it, a cherished illusion among many that the dynasty was dead and that, henceforth, real issues of real relevance would drive the polls. Just at this point, and indeed since she set foot on the campaign trail, there is little doubt that Sonia Gandhi is the issue of Election 1998. Not only that, apart from being responsible for the election degenerating into a debate about whether or not a naturalized citizen can be prime minister, she is also setting the agenda for the polls and after — whether on the Bofors investigation or forcing the BJP into some nimble footwork on the Mandir issue. That she has run away with the ball is apparent from the BJP’s latest challenge to Sonia to a debate. It is apparent in the yelps produced by her throwing down the gauntlet on Bofors and the apologies by her and her party for misdeeds ranging from Operation Bluestar to the Babri Masjid demolition.

In that they came to this election devoid of an agenda meaningful enough anda campaign attractive enough to capture the popular imagination, devoid of clear priorities or even catchy slogans, her political rivals have only themselves to blame. In that sense, there is no need to credit Sonia Gandhi overmuch with mystique to explain why she became the issue: mere popular appeal will suffice. There was a programmatic vacuum in these elections, and the dominance of one personality. Sonia Gandhi stepped into the vacuum and provided the other pole, finally bringing life to a soporofic election. It does, after all, take at least two personalities — and, preferably, two programmes — to invigorate a campaign. As it happens, the other personality in these elections — A.B. Vajpayee — has not had the benefit of purdah politics, is not associated with the dynasty, and has had the decency to respect the democratic process in all its aspects. He has been in the fray for as long as voters can remember, and familiarity does breed boredom. So Sonia begins with an unfair advantage. For all that,she could yet prove only to have curiosity value. Bal Thackeray may have put it crudely, but he may be right: "She is a new model and people just want to see her."

What can be said with more certainty is that it is a failure of rival parties that they have neither anticipated Sonia Gandhi with any success, nor offered diversion from her, nor reacted to her in anything approaching an adequate response. They deserve some sympathy. If they challenge her, they look reactive. If they ignore her, they look helpless and incapable of joining issue. They did bring to the election a certain bankruptcy of ideas. But what purpose challenging a ghost which will not acknowledge them and meet them in battle, but contemptuously go over their heads and around the normal channels directly to the people? This is the crux of the matter. If the people show up in droves to her meetings — even if only to see a "new model" — it does rather take the wind out of opponents’ sails in challenging her democratic credentials, eventhough they are quite right to question her scorn for all other normal democratic channels. How they tackle this, and if at all they can — on this hinges the fate of these elections.