Chasing Indira mirage

Political icons outlast their lives. They are more powerful even long after they are dead. 

John F Kennedy is still powerful in memories of Americans. That Bill Clinton during his first bid in the US Presidential elections got quite a leg up, after Americans found that he looked like Kennedy is being talked about far from Washington and in the unlikely land of mother of all democracy, that India is, should not come as surprise. Because what Kennedy was for America, Indira Gandhi was for India.

And the last hope of Congress and of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and also of numerous other dynasties in India seem pinned in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Even before the noise in Congress for Priyanka becomes louder, her fans are growing in numbers among leaders of regional parties.  

That BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has emerged as the numero-uno threat to dynasty is being admitted in the political corridor and with quite considerable concern. Modi seems to have taken BJP to such places where the party never existed and that makes him a foe of regional forces as well. 

Arguably, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has lost his political plot. And as if Indian politics is still that gripping soap-opera, his sister and occasional campaigner Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is showing quite an eagerness to jump into politics. 

It will be a mistake not to see a pattern, because there is a clear orchestration to prop up her into the political arena.

"Rahul kuch jyaada hi make-up kar liya tha...bilkul babua lag raha tha...16 ke baad ham khul kar bolenge ki Priyanka ko leading role lena chahiye (Rahul looks a kid...after 16th May, we will openly demand a larger role for Priyanka," said a top ranking Samajwadi Party leader, who liasen with top Congress leaders.

Regional parties have thrived with the weakening of the Congress during the last three decades. They built dynastic political parties on caste identities and survived even after they faced corruption charges. 

But the lurking decimation of Congress in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections is being seen as a clear threat to various dynasties. They apprehend that if Nehru-Gandhi dynasty can be politically made irrelevant, they will face the similar fate in coming months or years. And, hence, it makes a strong case for rallying behind Priyanka.

"India is full of emotional people. Priyanka styles on Indira's lines. People can flock to her if she jumps into active politics," confided a seasoned politician. 

From Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab to Haryana to Uttar Pradesh to Odisha to Jharkhand, Indian democracy tells the sorry tale of electoral politics being hijacked by dynasties. While Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru pushed his daughter Indira Gandhi into politics without a clear motive to establish a dynasty, she later did make it happen in 1980s. 

And since then the beneficiaries of the JP movement formed dynasties of their own. So, Mulayam Singh Yadav clan in Uttar Pradesh, Lalu Prasad in Bihar, Devi Lal in Haryana, Shibu Soren in Jharkhand established their hegemony in their respective states. 

But the rise of Narendra Modi has sent shock waves in these dynasties. "After decimating the Gandhi dynasty, Modi will next target dynastic politics in states. He poses serious threats to all those who have carved out political dynasties on caste identities. 

Therefore, all such leaders will make a beeline to demand a larger role for Priyanka after the verdict for the Lok Sabha elections is out," confided a senior Samajwadi Party leader.Arguably, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could be an easy target for Modi to further crush the Congress. 

"Will she not being a Mrs Vadra prove counterproductive for the Congress?" To this, the reply comes: "This is a land where the likes of A Raja wins with record margin. So, being Mrs Vadra does not matter much. People are emotional and if Priyanka can reinvent herself as Indira, there could be a recovery," said one advocating a larger role for her.

Incidentally, a weak Congress gains a lot of friends. And in the coming months the Congress may be pleasantly surprised to find a lot of new friends. They may also like to do business together. And that will happen because when faced with an existential crisis, lesser foes do not mind joining hands together. 

Thus, Navin Patnaik can have an understanding with Congress, as BJP beings to make deep inroad in Orissa. Mamata Banerjee may also revive her relations with Congress, as ground reports suggest BJP likely to fetch a minimum 15 per cent vote share in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections. Also, Mulayam will have no choice but to seek help from the Congress to keep the rising BJP in UP at bay.  

But the Congress will not be in a hurry to launch Priyanka into active politics so soon. That Rahul will get another five years to re-build the Congress is acknowledged in the party. And, therefore, the Congress will like to titillate the people with Priyanka's name for a while. 

You don't run all your best horses in the same race.