Post-Mortem

If Congress chief Sonia Gandhi did not have much to celebrate on her birthday on December 9, her Christmas gift is likely to bring even less...

If Congress chief Sonia Gandhi did not have much to celebrate on her birthday on December 9, her Christmas gift is likely to bring even less joy. The 8216;8216;post-mortem8217;8217; report on the party8217;s debacle in the recent polls is slated to be handed over to her on December 23 and sources say it won8217;t be a whitewash job.

After the initial 8216;8216;blame it on anti-incumbency8217;8217; reaction, Congress workers feel that something 8216;8216;drastic8217;8217; needs to be done before the 2004 general elections and 8216;8216;clipping the wings of the coterie8217;8217; tops everyone8217;s list. Although Sonia ruled out accepting any resignations for the defeat, partymen still believe 8212; or hope 8212; that the powers of her trusted aide Ambika Soni will be curbed after the post-mortem report.

The five-member committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee includes Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Prithviraj Chauhan and Bijoy Hendrik. That none of them belong to the 8216;8216;coterie8217;8217; and three are Lok Sabha MPs has heartened many partymen who feel Upper House members with little knowledge of 8216;8216;grassroots politics8217;8217; have shielded Sonia from reality.

Sources said Sonia herself gave the green signal to the team to do a thorough job when she ticked off a member of the coterie at a meeting on December 15. When a general secretary, regarded as part of the 8216;8216;Ambika team8217;8217;, tried to pass on the blame to state units, Sonia reacted sharply. What was the AICC team in charge of the elections doing? she reportedly said.

In the first round, the team is meeting former CMs except Ajit Jogi, PCC chiefs, AICC general secretary in-charge of the state and central observers. In the second round, it plans to meet defeated candidates and district chiefs, particularly from regions where the party lost its traditional base 8212; like the Jat belt in Rajasthan and Bastar in Chhattisgarh.

Sonia, separately, is also meeting partymen to gauge what went wrong and what needs to be set right. After the debacle, party MPs are far more vocal than the usual Congress norm, sources said.

8216;8216;The leadership must go through the lists of recommendations for tickets, and check how many nominees won and how many lost 8212; and then seek an explanation from the recommenders,8217;8217; said a Congress MP.

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There is also talk of a 8216;8216;complete revamp8217;8217; starting from the Congress President8217;s Office to the PCCs. And setting up a separate team to negotiate pre-poll alliances in every state.

But Sonia has one cause for cheer 8212; no one wants a leadership change. 8216;8216;No matter what you people think, every Congress worker knows that without Sonia Gandhi, the party will split into many bits,8217;8217; a leader said.