NEW DELHI: The power struggle within the Congress party has intensified with some senior leaders openly calling for a change of leadership and suggesting that Sonia Gandhi should be brought to the center stage to restore the Congressmen’s sagging morale in the wake of the party’s “decimation” in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka Assembly elections.

‘The clamor for Sonia’s return, started Rajiv loyalists like former Union Minister, K.K. Tewary, on Dec.9, acquired anew significance when the CWC member and UPCC chief N.D. Tiwari, reportedly suggested the possibility at a 90minute meeting with the Prime Minister and Congress president, P.V. Narasimha Rao, on Sunday night. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. Bhaskara Rao echoed the same sentiment in Vijayawada.

Tiwari met the HRD Minister, Arjun Singh, before leaving for Lucknow. Singh, who has openly called for “a free and frank debate” on the party’s latest debacle, held talks with Kerala Chief Minister K.Karunakaran, and the Union Minister, Rajesh Pilot, (both CWC members) and later called on Ms.Gandhi. Even though sources close to the Gandhi family ruled out the possibility of late Rajiv Gandhi’s widow entering politics at this stage, they conceded that the demand for change in the party leadership was gaining momentum.

“The CWC meeting on December 1415 will witness more fireworks. What transpired at the last inconclusive CWC meeting would appear as an intellectual discussion in comparison, “a CWC member predicted on condition of anonymity?

Somewhat stunned by the tone and tenor of pro changers, the Narasimha Rao camp decided to ‘once again postpone the general body meeting of the Congress Party in Parliament (CPP) scheduled for Tuesday.

‘The decision, taken before the meeting of the CPP executive later in the evening caused a commotion with a number of CPP executive members taking Rao’s political managers for “perpetuating the culture of indecision” and the centralized functioning of the leadership.

Earlier in the day, the CPP secretary, Major Sudhir Sawant, had told newsmen that the agenda of the CPP meeting would be discussed by the executive in the evening and he could intimate the press about its timing only after the executive meeting. Meanwhile, the Rao camp has started exploring the possibility of diffusing the crisis by floating the idea that a working president could be appointed to assist Rao. Congress sources indicated that Rao dangled the carrot in front of Tiwari also, but the later firmly told the Prime Minister that he preferred in main “an active worker.” Tiwari was not inclined to give details of what transpired between him and Rao except that “the general political situation as well as the UPCC resolution (seeking withdrawal of Congress support to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in UP)” figured in the talks. The HRD Minister was not available for comments. Tiwari’s candid confession that he would press for a decision on the UPCC resolution of acceptance of] his resignation as the’ chief, however, showed that at the next CWC meeting indicated that the normally soft-spoken senior Dietician means business this time. Singh and Pilot and some others, have already demonstrated their keenness to thrash out differences with the leadership. : ‘The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Sharad Pawar, another potential challenger of Rao, had kept quiet at the last CWC meeting. But some of his supporters indicated that the Maratha chieftain might throw his weight with pro changers should the move gain momentum. Pawar is reportedly peeved at the. Propaganda by Rao loyalists that he helped the TDP in An Pradesh Assembly elections. “Ii he (Rao) can befriend Laloo Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav (the opposition Chief Ministers of Bihar and UP respectively), why. Can’t I befriend N.T. Rama Rao? And Deve Gowda?” he told a close friend recently.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 16, 1994