Rajiv Gandhi's debut in active politics on the cards?

Not Yet, RajivRajiv Gandhi: Selection job ahead?Most observers of Delhi's political scene were confidently predicting that last fortnight's kisan rally was intended as the springboard to launch the political career of the prime minister's son, Rajiv Gandhi. The fact that Rajiv took a surprisingly active part in the preparations for the rally only seemed to confirm their view. The debut, however, failed to materialise, and speculation is rife once again.Though the rally would have been the ideal launching pad, sources close to Rajiv insist that he is still determined to delay his decision while at the same time shouldering his mother's burden as much as possible. He is, however, paying a more attentive ear to the ruling party's chorus that he should enter the political fray and indications are that he will make his decision fairly soon.He has not, for instance, tendered his resignation to Indian Airlines and is still playing an active role in union activities concerning the Indian Commercial Pilots Association. He has also, according to Indian Airlines sources, started flying Boeings as a co-pilot as part of his training for conversion to the bigger aircraft. In Congress(I) Party affairs, however, he is still playing the role of a traffic policeman and diverting some of the political traffic away from Mrs Gandhi by meeting party workers himself. But he is under pressure to announce a decision one way or another.Vacancy ProblemsLaw Minister Shiva Shankar has not been able to convince the Chief Justice, Y.V. Chandrachud and at least five chief justices of various High Courts to approve the names suggested by the Government for filling the vacancies in the courts. Chandrachud, it is learnt, has not reacted favourably to the Government's proposal of elevating a senior pro-Congress (I) advocate to the bench on the plea that he had been a High Court judge. Similarly, names for the appointment to the Delhi High Court have not been finalised because the Government wanted to reconsider the names suggested by Chief Justice V. S. Deshpande, who retired six months ago. There are at present three vacancies in the Delhi High Court. The Government wants fresh names for all the vacancies so that it is not obliged to appoint judges whose names were suggested without its prior consultation.Besides there are over 20 vacancies in the High Courts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. In each of these states the problem is the same: the chief ministers have not been able to find names which are acceptable to the chief justices.Last fortnight, the Union Home Ministry turned down four names sent to it by the Left Front Government in West Bengal for appointment as judges in the Calcutta High Court. Though the Centre has not given any reason for its refusal, it is clear that it believed the candidates to have strong Marxist links. In the same fortnight, however, the Centre honoured the recommendation of the Punjab Government and appointed one of its nominees to the Punjab High Court.Weathering The StormWith the various warring factions of the ruling party hell bent on heading for a showdown, the opposition parties, disorganised though they are, have been gathering like vultures waiting for the kill. However, the Congress(I) seems to have taken recourse to what is known in industrial circles as crisis management and may have earned itself some valuable breathing space. One significant indication of this is that the much-publicised organisational elections, originally scheduled to be held in mid-May, may not take place till the end of the year. Membership forms for the elections were distributed to party members last month, but it is evident that the membership campaign, which should have been in full swing by now, has not yet taken off.Meanwhile, a large number of MPs and MLAs have approached the Congress(I) high command with a fervent request to postpone the elections on the plea that they are too preoccupied with parliamentary matters to do full justice to the campaign. The Budget sessions in Parliament and the state assemblies will continue till mid-May. However, it is evident that their request is just a cover-up for the actual reason for the postponement: it is an attempt to avert a showdown between the various factions within the Congress(I). According to party sources, Mrs Gandhi will be asked to continue as party president for another term and will also be requested to nominate the Pradesh Congress Committee(I) (PCC-I) members. In political terms, this means that in all probability Rajiv will have the job of weeding out the various PCC(I) candidates, a fact that the partymen know only too well judging by the increasing number of lobby leaders who have been clamouring for an appointment with him in recent weeks.Merger PlansBearing out rumours that the Maharashtra Congress(U) and the Congress(I) national leadership are embroiled in negotiations leading to an eventual merger, Sharad Pawar, former Maharashtra chief minister and Congress(U) heavyweight, met Rajiv Gandhi in Delhi last fortnight to hammer out the exact terms for the marriage. Sources, however, insist that no final settlement has been worked out yet.While Congress(U) leaders in Maharashtra continue to deny the possibility of a merger unless Mrs Gandhi adopts a "democratic, in-party style of functioning", they continue to woo the lady through public utterances of cooperation. An insider insists that, in addition to oblique references to cooperation, Y. B. Chavan has actually written to Mrs Gandhi pledging the support of his party in any programme she might wish to implement. Congress(U) leaders close to Pawar do not discount the possibility of an eventual rapprochement. "We would be willing to come to a settlement and work under Antulay if the merger takes place," says Govindrao Adik, a close confidant of Pawar's "but Mrs Gandhi's attitude is not right at present. She has not agreed to make the party organisation truly democratic." However, he added wistfully: "But eventually, we are one and the same party."Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 26, 2013 10:20 IST--- ENDS ---

Download App

Get 37% off on an annual Print +Digital subscription of India Today Magazine

Rajiv Gandhi's debut in active politics on the cards?

PUBLICATIONS

TELEVISION

EVENTS

RADIO

GAMING

USEFUL LINKS

PRINTING

WELFARE

DISTRIBUTION

SYNDICATIONS

WEBSITES

EDUCATION