Dear Friends:
This news is from the Telegraph this morning (07 03 2012) sent by Dean Nelson, New Delhi. -bhuban Rahul Gandhi's future is in doubt as he is humiliated in crucial state elections after leading his party to a crushing defeat, casting doubt over his future The elections in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state, were billed as a proving ground for Mr Gandhi to demonstrate his fitness to take over the Congress leadership from his ailing mother, Sonia Gandhi, and follow in the footsteps of his father Rajiv, grandmother Indira, and great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru. But the results have fuelled speculation he may soon be replaced by his sister Priyanka. He had identified Uttar Pradesh, which Congress once dominated but has not won since the late 1980s, as a key battleground in his campaign to revive the party throughout India. But senior party loyalists last night said his showing had been a "disaster" for both him and the Congress Party after its share of the vote plunged in comparison to its performance in the 2009 general election. They had expected to win up to 100 seats in the state assembly, in line with their vote at the 2009 general election, but by Tuesday night they had failed to reach 30 and had been defeated in Amethi and Rae Bareily constituencies, which the Gandhi family has dominated since Indian independence. The election was won convincingly by the Samajwadi Party, a left-wing low caste party which enjoys the support of one of India's richest billionaires and its most celebrated Bollywood actor, Amitabh Bachchan. Its victory ousted the controversial Dalit leader Mayawati, whose self-enrichment in power and erection of statues of herself throughout the state brought international criticism But the biggest loser was Mr Gandhi, who had competed with Mayawati for the votes of the Dalit 'untouchables' and other low caste groups. He had made a series of high-profile visits to stay and with poor Dalit villagers, and in 2009 took Britain's then Foreign Secretary David Miliband along with him. But according to senior Congress figures Mr Gandhi had failed to win their votes and had compounded his mistakes by alienating the party's traditional higher caste Brahmins. One figure close to Mrs Gandhi said the party's strategy had been wrong and described the decision to allow Mr Gandhi to lead the campaign a "serious mistake." "Now the pressure will be for Priyanka [Gandhi] to be involved and up front for the party. Rahul should not have got involved [in the campaign], he should have a good team in instead," he said. Priyanka Gandhi has, until now, rejected taking on a leadership role in the Congress to focus on her young family. But she is ambitious, according to family aides, who say she has inherited the charisma and populist touch of her grandmother, the late Indira Gandhi. She was lauded for her compassion in 2008 after she visited a woman jailed for her father's assassination and is highly sought-after by Congress candidates who believe her presence at rallies boosts their vote. Insiders say the 'clamour for Priyanka' will grow after the Congress suffered further setbacks in four other state election, including Punjab and Goa, where the party was ousted by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Mr Gandhi took responsibility for his party's poor showing and blamed the defeat on its poor organisation in the state and a "general mood for the Samajwadi Party. Analysts said voters had decided Congress had little chance of defeating Mayawati and rallied around the Samajwadi Party to oust her. "There were not enough Congressmen on the ground to take the voters to the polling booth and the end result is Rahul Gandhi has turned himself into an interesting joker," said Kamal Mitra Chenoy. There was speculation that the defeat would further weaken the Congress-led national government, which has seen its programme for economic reforms paralysed amid growing concerns about corruption. But Samajwadi Party general secretary Rajesh Dixit told the Daily Telegraph it would continue to support the Congress-led government from the backbenches at national level while governing alone in Uttar Pradesh. Some senior Samajwadi Party figures said they might yet join the government and bolster its reform plans.as heir to India's ruling Congess dynasty' _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
