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Sonia Gandhi appointed head of India's Congress party
March 14, 1998
Gandhi
Web posted at: 9:48 a.m. EST (1448 GMT)NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, on Saturday became head of the Congress party, the political body which has dominated Indian politics for decades but has suffered major setbacks in the past two years.
"To remove the confusion and state of uncertainty leading to the irreparable and immense harm to the party, the (policy-making) Congress Working Committee(CWC) resolves to appoint Mrs. Sonia Gandhi as president of the Indian National Congress...with immediate effect," the party said in a formal resolution.
Gandhi replaces veteran leader Sitaram Kesri who on Monday announced his resignation in light of the party's poor showing in the recent parliamentary elections. The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party won the most seats in those polls and was widely expected to form the new government.
The 51-year-old Gandhi, who had spent most years since her husband's assassination in 1991 in relative seclusion, became something of a star party campaigner in the February-March elections. And, according to political observers, she totally eclipsed Kesri during the election campaign.
Even though she has no political experience and did not stand for a parliamentary seat herself, Gandhi attracted large crowds during the campaign. She was seen as a prominent figure that reminded voters of the more glorious days of Congress, which was once the most influential party in India with independence heroes Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharalal Nehru in its ranks.
But even though Congress governed India for most of the 50 years since the end of British rule -- and the Gandhi dynasty figured prominently during these years -- Congress has been weakened in recent years by corruption scandals and infighting. In the 1996 elections, for instance, Congress suffered a major setback and was overtaken as the largest party in parliament. And then P.V. Narasimha Rao, Congress's outgoing prime minister, was charged with corruption.
Kesri protests
Party leaders said Gandhi had accepted the job as party head, but Kesri on Saturday countered his resignation statement from Monday and declared that he was still in charge and had not resigned.
"I am still the Congress president. This takeover is illegal," he told a news conference.
He said he had wanted to summon a session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), the general body which elects the CWC, in front of which he would quit.
"I had said I would respectfully step down at the AICC session and invited Sonia to take over respectfully but not in this way."
Kesri had attended the CWC meeting in the morning but walked out prematurely. Party leaders said Gandhi would preside as president at the CWC meeting on Saturday.
"I am not in a mood for confrontation as age is not on my side," the octogenarian said, adding that the party would be troubled by the latest developments.
Gandhi's future unclear
As head of the Congress party, Gandhi will be working at party headquarters and run day-to-day business of Congress. But, depending on the party's political role, her political standing could change significantly.
Gandhi If Congress, for instance, were to lead the next government, its president could become India's prime minister, if she were a member of parliament.
Though Gandhi did not run for parliament in the recent elections, she could be appointed to a seat in the upper house, thus fulfilling the requirement that the prime minister be a member of either the lower or upper house of parliament.
On the campaign trail, Gandhi said repeatedly that she considered herself Indian because of her 1968 marriage and her love for the country and its people.
She stressed the sacrifices her family had made for the country. Her husband, his mother Indira Gandhi and grandfather Nehru were all Indian prime ministers and both Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi were assassinated.
New Delhi Bureau Chief Anita Pratap, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Hindu nationalists on brink of power in India - March 10, 1998
- Politician holds sway in who will govern India - March 6, 1998
- Coalition strategies take shape in India - March 4, 1998
- India's Hindu nationalists post strong early returns - March 3, 1998
- First exit polls in India put BJP in lead - February 28, 1998
- India appears headed for coalition government - February 28, 1998
- India's Hindu nationalists win local confidence vote - February 26, 1998
Related sites:
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- Bharatiya Janata Party,India
- Press Trust of India
- Indian Politics: The Economic Times
- Hindustan Times
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