Pranab Mukherjee Takes Over as 13th President of India: First Bengali To Become Head of State

Veteran Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee has become  13th president of India. He is the first person from West Bengal to occupy the top Constitutional post and the third MP to be elevated to the office of President after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Zail Singh.

The presidential election was a one-sided affair. Mukherjee — who was sworn in by Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia on July 25 — secured 68.12 per cent of the total 10,47,971 value votes cast by 4,659 members of the State/Territorial Assemblies and Parliament. Opposition-backed candidate PA Sangma, who was supported by the NDA, the AIADMK and the BJD, managed only 30.15 per cent of the votes.

There were a total of 81 invalid votes, to the value of 18,221. These include that of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose second ballot was invalidated by the Election Commission, for it violated the vote of secrecy.

Among the 748 Members of Parliament (excluding the nominated members who have no voting right) with the total vote value of 5,29,584, Mukherjee polled 527 votes (3,73,116) and Sangma got 206 votes (1,45,848).

There was some cross-voting in favor of Mukherjee in the BJP-ruled Karnataka: he got votes of 117 MLAs, against the BJP’s 103 in the 224-member Assembly. While three votes were declared invalid, one MLA did not vote.

In Kerala, Mukherjee made a clean sweep, polling all 124 votes; one was invalid. Sangma drew a blank. The CPI and RSP MLAs abstained from voting.

Only former President K.R. Narayanan, secured the maximum value votes of 9, 56, 290 (94.97 per cent), when he won in the 1997 election against the former Chief Election Commissioner, T.N. Seshan.

In the 2007 election, the outgoing President, Pratibha Patil, the first woman to hold the office, defeated the then Vice President, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, securing 65.82 per cent of the total valid votes. Shekhawat polled 33.18 per cent.

Career Graph

Born on 11 Dec 1935 in Mirati village, Kirnahar disttricy, Birbhum (West Bengal), Mukherjee will embark on a new journey transcending political affiliations in the high Constitutional job with an ease none of his predecessors may have enjoyed because of his experience spanning 45 years in government and politics.

His election to the President's office today comes as a fitting finale for the veteran Congressman from West Bengal, until recently the troubleshooter of UPA, a task he has handled for the past eight years.

Not a lawyer by training but considered an expert in the working of the Constitution and governance, he was ever seen as the perennial 'No. 2' in government.

Mukherjee was a utility man from the days of Indira Gandhi, when he was the powerful Minister of State for Revenue during the Emergency, and later as Finance Minister in the 1980s.

His rise had been steady and such valuable was his contribution to government that his nomination as a Presidential candidate came after a huge dilemma for Congress party, which heads the UPA coalition that has moved from crisis to crisis in the past eight years.

The veteran leader, known for his photographic memory, had become a Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Parliament) member for the first time in 1969.

Mukherjee was for a long time member of the Upper House before his first direct election to the Lok Sabha in 2004 from Jangipur in West Bengal. He repeated his victory in the 2009 elections but had expressed a desire not to contest elections again in view of his advancing age.

Mukherjee was a top-ranking minister and presided over the Union Cabinet meetings in the absence of the Prime Minister during 1980-85.

Of course, Mukherjee had his own bad days in the Congress which he had to quit in the mid-80s after he had evinced interest in becoming the prime minister after the death of Indira Gandhi in 1984. It took some time before he came back into the party but once he was in, there was no stopping his rise once again.

Mukherjee became finance minister again in 2008 after P Chidambaram was shifted to the Home Ministry in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Again his importance was seen when P V Narasimha Rao made him Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission as well as Minister of External Affairs. In between he had to quit because he ceased to be a member of Parliament and came back to the Cabinet after reelection.

Mukherjee started his public life in the 1960s in Bangla Congress during the time of former Chief Minister Ajoy Mukherjee of the United Front government when Jyoti Basu was Deputy Chief Minister in West Bengal. He was general secretary of Bangla Congress.

A post-graduate in political science and history, he can recollect any event of historical importance or mundane political and other events, a matter of envy to many of his colleagues.

Son of a senior Congress leader Kinkar Mukherjee from West Bengal, Mukherjee had done MA (history), MA (political science), and LLB, DLitt. He had a brief stint as lawyer, teacher and journalist before he was embedded to his destiny of politics in 1969, when he became a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Mukherjee, who headed 83 GoMs and EGoMs from June 2004 until recently, was Leader of the Rajya Sabha from 1980-85 and later he became Leader of the Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is Leader of the Rajya Sabha.

When Mukherjee was Finance Minister, Manmohan Singh was appointed RBI Governor in 1982. In what could be described a case of chasing each other's shadow, Singh became Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission from 1985 to 1987, a post Mukherjee later held from 1991 to 1996, when Singh became Finance Minister in P V Narasimha Rao government.

Mukherjee also had a brief stint as Chairman of the Economic Advisory Cell of AICC between 1987 and 1989. Interestingly, Manmohan Singh also held this post, when Congress was out of power between 1999 and 2004.

Mukherjee, who started his career as a college teacher, always carried the traits of a teacher, never hestitating to give a reprimand or two to juniors whether in his party or the Opposition. He was also jocularly called 'GoM Mukherjee' in political circles as he headed 33 Groups of Ministers on various key issues including the recent one on setting up of Lokpal.

The man who headed Joint Committee on Lokpal that included Anna Hazare, Mukherjee has five books published to his credit on political and economic issues and under his editorial guidance, the history of Congress was published in which there was a candid admission of excesses during the Emergency.

Mukherjee was conferred the Best Parliamentarian Award in 1997. Ten years later, he was awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honor.

In Congress Party, Mukherjee became AICC treasurer in 1978. Journalists and AICC media department officials still recall Mukherjee's tenure as the Media Department Chairman of the party. Mukherjee was AICC General Secretary in 1998-99.

In 1984-1991, 1996 and 1998, Mukherjee was Chairman of the Campaign Committee of AICC, besides being a member of the Congress Working Committee and Congress Election Committee.

Mukherjee held all the key portfolios, including Defence from May 2004 to October 2006 and External Affairs from October 2006 to May 2009 besides the Finance portfolio, which he held again in 2009 after a gap of 27 years.

In the past, he also held portfolios like Commerce and Steel and Mines, Revenue and Banking (Independent Charge), Shipping and Transport, Industrial Development, Commerce and Supply besides presiding over a number of Parliamentary Committees.

Mukherjee got married to Suvra on July 13, 1957 and has two sons — Abhijit and Indrajit — and daughter Sharmistha. Abhijit is a Congress MLA in West Bengal.

Challenges in New Role

Mukherjee’s new role in Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s House) will be quite contrary to the one he has just finished playing. The most critical test for Mukherjee as President will no doubt come in 2014 after the general election to the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament). As in the past couple of decades, no one party is likely to get a majority of its own, and the bigger parties would have to depend on the support of alliance partners or new-found friends.

R. Venkataraman in 1989 and Sharma in 1996 followed the principle of inviting the leader of the single largest party to form the government. Rajiv Gandhi declined the invitation in 1989; Atal Behari Vajpayee accepted the invitation, but lasted as Prime Minister on that occasion for just 13 days. With these examples behind him, Narayanan insisted on letters of support from a claimant party’s allies before extending it an invitation to form the government.

Additional Qualities

Used to working long hours, he may have to find new outlets for his unbounded energy. Though it was apparent that the UPA had the numbers, 76-year-old Mukherjee campaigned tirelessly, moving from state to state, winning the support of even rivals in Karnataka, Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal. Reaching out to anyone and everyone who matters is a quality Mukherjee is known for. As president, he is expected to build bridges.

After being in the thick of politics for long years, will it be now Presidential activism for Mukherjee? Will he be able to rise above party politics in 2014 when the general election is expected to throw a split verdict? Since the Constitution is unclear about the formation of a government if no party gets a majority, the President is free to exercise discretion. In 1996 Shankar Dayal Sharma invited the BJP to form a government but it fell in 13 days as Atal Behari Vajpayee could not muster enough support. KR Narayanan, setting a precedent, asked for letters of support from the party staking the claim to form a government. How Mukherjee handles such a situation would be keenly watched. That may well be the defining moment for him.

Despite his personal religious observances — which are perfectly in consonance with India’s Constitution —Mukherjee is also a secular politician. One cannot imagine him chuckling with glee while the Babri Masjid was being vandalised or turning a blind ear to the cries of Muslims being massacred in Ahmedabad. As President, he may not be in a position to do either, but this is where a conversation with the late Giani Zail Singh, and what it revealed of British precedents, comes in.

Positive Points

* Constitutional expert: A Constitutional and governance expert, Mukherjee has always been seen as the perennial 'No. 2' in the government.

* Utility man: From the days of Indira Gandhi, Mukherjee's has been her trusted aide. He was the powerful Minister of State for Revenue during the Emergency, and later as Finance Minister in the 80s. For the past eight years, Mukherjee has been the Mr Troubleshooter for UPA.

* Photographic memory: The veteran leader is known for his sharp memory. He can recollect any event of historical importance or mundane political and other events, a matter of envy to many of his colleagues.

* Vast experience: With four decades of active life in politics, Mukherjee knows the Indian political system inside out.

Assessment

It can be said that in Mukherjee, India will have a knowledgeable and pragmatic President who is well-versed in constitutional procedures and practices, and who was, until his nomination as a candidate by the ruling coalition, an active politician and senior Union Minister.

Mukherjee will be a President who could just as easily have been prime minister. There have been presidents who have come straight from the Union Council of Ministers, but none has carried the political weight and executive experience of this man from small-town Bengal. We have little doubt he will dignify the office he is about to step into and leave little room for narrow partisanship.

Unlike Pratibha Patil, who was out of active politics long before she became president, APJ Abdul Kalam, who was a genuinely nonpolitical person in the best sense of the term, and KR Narayanan, Shanker Dayal Sharma and R Venkataraman, who served as vice president before they entered Rashtrapati Bhavan, Mukherjee is making the switch from active politics and governance to the office of President in next to no time.

From the moment Mukherjee’s name was formally proposed by the UPA for the presidency, there was little doubt that the veteran Congress leader would sail through even in the event of a contest. As such, the result of the presidential poll between Mukherjee and Purno A. Sangma, who was backed by some regional parties and the BJP and some of its NDA allies carries no surprise. Given Mukherjee’s standing in public life, everyone expects him to be correct and proper in discharging his duties.

Undoubtedly, the former federal minister for finance, defense and external affairs has not only been one of the country's most important policy-makers in recent times but also that his long career in Government has allowed him to gain a deep understanding of the functioning of the Indian polity. This — an invaluable trait in today's era of coalition politics and tenuous political ties — naturally made Mukherjee the perfect choice as a firefighter of the UPA regime. Over the years, particularly in its second term, as the Congress-led UPA slid into an inert state of policy paralysis, becoming a sitting duck for the Opposition, it was Mukherjee who reached out to the critics, addressed their concerns and built the much-needed consensus.

It is hoped that Mukherjee will keep his promise to the nation and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. Good luck Mr President!

Mutiny in Maldives: President Nasheed Resigns

The first democratically elected president of the Maldives resigned on February 7 and was replaced by his vice president after the police and army clashed in the streets of the island nation amid protests over the arrest of a top judge.
Keeping the uncontrolled situation in view, President Mohamed Nasheed stepped down after a police mutiny described as an “attempted coup”, capping weeks of upheaval. Mutiny by sections of the police and the army forced President Nasheed to quit. Vice President Mohamed Waheed, who previously worked as a top UNICEF official and clashed with Nasheed over the chief justice’s detention, was sworn in as president.
The resignation of President Nasheed marked a stunning fall for the former human rights campaigner who defeated the nation's longtime ruler in the country's first multiparty election.
Beginning of Crisis
The dramatic day began in the early hours when a group of policeman refused orders to break up an anti-government protest. It is said that members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were assaulted by officers, who later took over the state television station.
Nasheed had been facing increasingly violent street protests and a constitutional crisis ever since he got a judge arrested on January 16, after accusing him of being ‘in the pocket’ of his predecessor Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had ruled for 30 years before Nasheed was swept to power in 2008 as the first democratically elected President of Maldives.
Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had called for the overthrow of the government and for citizens to launch a jihad against the President. The Gayoom government had arrested Nasheed 27 times and imprisoned him for six years in all while agitating for democracy.
The situation turned ugly on February 7, with sections of the police and the army joining protesters in the capital Male and taking over the state-owned TV channel. Soon thereafter Nasheed announced that he was stepping down so that the government did not have to use force against Maldivians.
The street protests began with the arrest of the Chief Justice of the Criminal Court of Maldives, Abdulla Mohamed, on January 16, forcing the government to seek assistance from the UN as well as from the Commonwealth, for a team of legal experts to visit the country and help resolve the impasse.
The government had accused Judge Abdulla of being in complicity with criminals. “The opposition has been inciting people and spreading hatred to mobilise activists on the ground; the inflammatory speeches and incitement to violence is not something that the government can condone,” Maldivian Foreign Secretary Mohamed Naseer, who was in Colombo in the last week of January, had said.
The opposition PPM denied allegations of extremism. A PPM official in the Maldives claimed that violence during the protests had been instigated by vigilanttes unleashed by the government, many of whom hard-core criminals released from prison under a special program called ‘second chance.’
The islands are located strategically to the south west of India and straddle what is called the 9 degree channel of sea lane of communication. Indian warships patrol the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the islands as a goodwill gesture. The nation is within India’s sphere of influence and Indian Navy maintains regular contact.
Genesis of Problem
The issue came to a boil in mid-2010, when opposition members forced a deadlock by blocking all legislation. Stirring the pot continuously were a range of actors, from President Gayoom's half-brother, who heads an opposition party, to Islamists, who accused Nasheed of diluting the official religion. In the past few weeks, Male saw protests by Islamic radicals, who vandalised a mural presented by Pakistan to commemorate the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in November 2011 as “un-Islamic”, and a Buddha statue gifted by Sri Lanka.
The opposition had also accused Nasheed of being anti-Islamic. Nasheed had swept to power in 2008 , pledging to introduce ‘full democracy’ to the low lying islands (1,200 of them, mostly uninhabited and none more than six feet above the sea level) and campaigning passionately on the dangers of climate change and rising sea levels.
India’s Stance
India has acted wisely by keeping out of the political tumult in the Maldives, and allowing events to take their own course. Entirely different circumstances dictated India's 1988 decision to send commandos to prevent a coup against Gayoom by Sri Lankan Tamil militants hired by his Maldivian opponents. In the present instance, any intervention to help Nasheed remain in power would have served neither him nor India well.
As many as 30,000 Indians in Maldives are said to be safe. Nasheed had sought military intervention by India to foil the ‘coup’. But while the India had flown in paratroopers and commandos in 1988 to foil a coup-attempt in Maldives, this time the Indian Government made it plain that it did not want to interfere.
Nevertheless, New Delhi can do without a radical Islamist state in its immediate neighborhood. India should have played a more pro-active role in helping Nasheed to tide over the crisis. This is in sharp contrast to former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi acting decisively to thwart a coup in Maldives in 1988.
Brief Profile of New President
Hassan, who was educated at Stanford University in California, was the first television anchor in Maldives history and the first person shown live when local TV went on the air in 1978, according to his official biography.
According to Hassan’s biography, he became a top education official in the country, but eventually left under duress after getting elected to Parliament and incurring the ire of the autocratic government ruling in the 1990s. He joined UNICEF and rose to be its representative in Afghanistan, helping rebuild schools and provide health services after the fall of the Taliban.
Assessment
The present crisis that has engulfed Maldives is a manifestation of the simmering battle for control over the country’s politics and administration between Nasheed, who was elected President in 2008 when the first free and fair election was held in 2008, and his predecessor, Gayoom, a ruthless autocrat. Behind the facade of anti-Nasheed protests that have succeeded in unseating him lurks the ugly face of radical Islamists.
They have been eyeing power for some time now and the protests came as a golden opportunity for them to stage their version of the ‘Arab Spring’. Already, there are signals of Maldives adopting fanaticism as state policy. This does not augur well for India.

Wadhwa Committee Report

It is a reflection on the utter insensitivity of our bureaucracy that while the common man and poor people are reeling under sky-rocketing prices of food commodities, the subsidy provided by the government for distribution of food grain through the Public Distribution System (PDS) is being misused. Those responsible for this maladministration are making a raillery of the efforts being made by the government and at the same time, further making life difficult for the poor.

Progress and Welfare
Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had once asserted that of every rupee that the government releases for the country's progress and welfare, only Rs.0.06 go to the poor. One can easily surmise by that assertion how deep the malaise of corruption has entered into the system of Indian administration, and the lust of easy money has spoiled our bureaucracy. The comment made by late Rajiv Gandhi is applicable to the administration even to this day.

It won't be an exaggeration to say that in fact, the situation has gone worse. That is why the schism between the rich and the poor continues to widen. The life of the poor has become so difficult that let alone other necessary items and commodities he finds it difficult even to get a square meal a day. In such a scenario, if our bureaucracy sacrifices the amount earmarked by the government for providing food grain at subsidized rates to the poor at the altar of the corruption, it can only be termed utter insensitivity and nothing else.

Impact of Corruption
The Supreme Court had constituted a committee headed by a retired judge of the apex court, Justice D.P. Wadhwa, to investigate the details of the shortcomings of the PDS and recommend remedial measures. The Wadhwa Committee has revealed in its report that the huge subsidy of Rs.280 billion that the government provides to the PDS goes into the pockets of corrupt government officers, transporters, and mill owners. The committee has described the PDS as the most corrupt department in the country.

The committee has further disclosed that wheat meant for distribution to poor people directly reaches flour mils from warehouses. This implies that the wheat supply, which could give succor to a poor and provide a square meal to a hungry family, is directly filing up the coffers of corrupt officers, transports, and the mill owners. This way, the poor are being deprived of their dues.

Although the Wadhwa Committee has said nothing on the involvement of politicians in the matter, going by the prevailing situation in the country, the threads of every corrupt practice are linked to politicians. In this case also, it can be safely surmised that if the entire PDS were thoroughly investigated, involvement of some leaders would certainly get revealed.

Fast-Spreading Malignancy
The report likens corruption in the PDS as a fast-spreading malignancy, and has stressed the need to strike at the very roots of this gangrene. Yet, one wonders who would initiate any action against bureaucracy, officials, and politicians who are merged up to their ears in corruption?

Undoubtedly, our judiciary has initiated commendable measure to reform society, and to protect the rights of the poor but clearly, judiciary also has its own limitations. It is for the government to initiate measures to set things right in corrupt departments like the PDS or any other such department.

Below Poverty Line Card
Justice P.D. Wadhwa has disclosed that every PDS depot holder pays Rs. 1,200 to the police inspector every month, and the circle inspector of the Department of Civil Supplies asks for Rs.1, 000 as bribe every month. The committee has given indications of bribes being paid at every step. Even to get the Below Poverty Line (BPL) card issued, the gram Panchayat (local self-government) secretary takes a bribe of Rs. 500.

This implies that one has to pay through his nose to get oneself recognized as a poor person. When corruption has reached such a level, how can one expect that the poor would ever get his right, or that plans launched by the government for welfare of the poor would ever reach the targeted populace.

Congress At 125: A Review

Today the Indian National Congress (INC) celebrated 125th Foundation Day across the country with much enthusiasm. Undoubtedly this is unprecedented in the annals of world political history. In other words, it is a historic moment, that in any country in the world, any political party would be successfully celebrating its 125th anniversary, and it is a matter of great pride for every member of the Congress to be a part of such a historic party, with a rich legacy of 125 years.

Unique Dimension
The INC is undoubtedly the largest, and, possibly, the oldest political party in the world, with a mass membership that quite possibly exceeds the population of several small countries. And yet, this is not the only unique dimension of the INC. The history of the Congress is inextricably intertwined with the history of the Indian independence movement, and hundreds of leaders and foot soldiers of the party had the honor to stand at the frontlines of the exceptional struggle for the country’s independence from the British rule.
The INC is exceptional because, once again, in the annals of world political history no other country has fought for and obtained its independence without warfare and weapons. Exceptional because the entire struggle for freedom was based on the foundation of truth and moral authority, and the creed of non-violence symbolized by the mighty power of the example of Mahatma Gandhi. Little wonder then that the name of Mahatma Gandhi resonates even today in the context of peace, and moral values in the world order.

Dominating Indian Political Landscape
The fact is that Congress and its leaders were born from the strong moral values and sacrifice of the freedom movement, and it is this spirit of service and dedication to the country, which informs the philosophy of the INC until today. From the battle for freedom, the Congress led the country in the task of nation building under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, and, during that golden period, the Congress dedicated itself to the ideal of a welfare state, the commanding heights of the public sector, and an India determined to come out of the wounds of partition, as also the shadow of colonial rule and take her rightful place in the comity of nations. Under the leadership of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Congress reiterated its foundation of morality and ethics, and continued to dominate the Indian political landscape.
After that began a period in our political history, when elections to state legislatures were won by some political parties, and from being the party in the government, the Congress moved to occupy the Opposition space in some states. But soon Indira Gandhi dominated the national political scene and towered over all other leaders, with her fiery determination and commitment to the poor. "Gharibi hatao" (eradicate poverty) became the slogan of the Congress, both within the country and at different international fora. Whether it was the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) or the creation of Bangladesh, the abolition of privy purses or nationalization of banks, the Congress under Indira Gandhi found a lasting place in the hearts and minds of people. The poor of our country, the women, the dalits, and tribals, the disadvantaged all over the country, felt that Indira Gandhi would look after them and protect their interests. All over the country, it was the Congress alone which was the party in government, or the leading Opposition party of the country.

Generational Shift in Congress
The assassination of Indira Gandhi marked a generational change in the Congress, and the country’s youngest-ever Prime Minister in the form of Rajiv Gandhi assumed power at the Centre. Soon he led the Congress to a spectacular victory at the hustings. Thereafter began the era of youth, of redefining the role of the Congress in the modern world and taking India into the 21st century and to the path of success.
With refreshing idealism, which refused to be dampened by vested interests or nay-sayers, Rajiv Gandhi introduced to the party, and the country, computers, technology, efficient delivery, and, above all, the concept of transparent, accountable politics. His steadfast idealism saw the impossible happen. Power was devolved for the first time, in a real sense, to the level of local government. Also for the first time, dalits and tribals and women were given a share of decision-making and a space on the political horizon by the reservation of seats for them in local bodies.

Emergence of Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi took over the reins of the party years after the assassination of her husband, and in the face of great pessimism expressed by parties opposed to the Congress. The Congress itself was numb and traumatized by the death of Rajiv Gandhi, and many wondered if the grand old party would be able to fight its way out of the vacuum caused by the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, who had been a leader acceptable not just to the entire Congress party, but to every Indian, cutting across barriers of geography, economics, caste and creed. In the 10 years Sonia Gandhi has led the party, the Congress has virtually gone from triumph to triumph, emerging once again as the only party with a truly pan-Indian presence, in government or the leading Opposition in every state of the country.
Moreover, the Congress has once again moved with the needs of the time and has fashioned itself, under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, into a party committed to the welfare and upliftment of the most disadvantaged sections of Indian society, party committed to inclusive growth, to democracy, to accountability and to a strong self-reliant India. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been the pride of the party with his shining integrity and quiet dedication. The Congress represents every section of the society, including youth and women, and the iconic leadership of Rahul Gandhi has been tremendously instrumental in taking the message of the Congress to the youth of India.

Maintaining Winning Streak
The year 2009 witnessed another landmark for the Congress, which is leading United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It was widely expected that anti-incumbency would ensure that the Congress did not come back to power at the Centre, and indeed, in recent times, very few governments have won a second term at the national level. However, the steadfast commitment to inclusive growth, particularly schemes such as National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Information Act, won huge trust and support from the Indian people.
Moreover, as any political observer could see, the electorate was tired of the hollow jargon-type electioneering followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and certainly did not believe in Lal Krishna Advani’s promises of good and decisive governance. Also, the Congress, under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Dr Singh, presented the much more satisfying prospect of good governance.

Revival of Congress in Uttar Pradesh
In fact, the true achievement lay in the revival of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Rahul Gandhi’s repeated forays into the heartlands of Uttar Pradesh, his candid engagement of ordinary people, his transparent commitment to ensure democracy within the party, and good governance, saw the Congress winning back in substantial measure the trust of the people of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important signal that the days of polarizing and identity-based politics may not be fully history, but the success of Rahul Gandhi’s idealism signals a new watershed.
The challenges ahead are many. In a country like India, there is always the temptation to try the gimmickry of narrow electoral appeal and populist politics to win elections. Democracy within the party and accountability to the public, as well as making inclusive development electoral planks, may not bring gains in the short-term. But, if anything, it is clear, that the Congress has stood the test of time. With our historic legacy, and mature leadership, infused now by the idealistic and transparent appeal of youthful leaders like Rahul Gandhi, the Congress now towers head and shoulders over other formations. The Congress also has the ability to build patiently, and wait for results.

Assessment
To conclude it can be said that the achievements of the Congress are manifold, and self-evident. The challenges facing the party are the same as any that might face any mass-based political organization, but these challenges appear relatively minor in the face of the strength of the party and the vision of the leadership of Sonia Gandhi.
In addition, the tremendous moral authority of Sonia Gandhi's single act of declining the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has raised her leadership to heights that can never be achieved by other leaders, and invests her leadership with particular resonance. And the greater the heights achieved by the Congress, the greater will its commitment be to the service of the country. The time will better tell the story because the common people of the country have voted the Congress to power for the second consecutive term with great expections.