Election 2014: A two part series
Election 2014: A two part series Surjit S Bhalla ~-~ Evaluating Sonia, the black box leader Should Sonia Gandhi, ruler of the Congress party, be congratulated for finishing 15 years in Indian politics? It is not a sign of expertise if an heir becomes king. So why should it be different with her? What does her political record look like? She formally assumed power in April 1998, but a year earlier (March 31, 1997 to be precise), the Congress party under her leadership (or the formal head Sitaram Kesri?) had withdrawn support to the United Front government. As the table shows, the Congress obtained the same seats as 1996, but 3 percentage points less votes than the P.V. Narasimha Rao 1996 election. The next year, after a full 18 months in power, Sonia's Congress obtained the lowest seats ever, 114, but kept its vote share equal to the 1996 level. The same story continues for the next two elections. In 2009, the vote share remained just...