Sonia issues tickets as the Congress train chugs along
George Iype in New Delhi
Sonia Gandhi has taken over distribution of tickets in the party,
rendering the Congress Election Committee headed by Sitaram Kesri virtually redundant.
Congress sources say by the time the process of ticket distribution is over, Sonia would have nominated nearly 150 candidates considered loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi family.
For instance, in a politically crucial state like Uttar Pradesh, Sonia has fielded many loyalists
starting with Ratnakar Pandey, her old Hindi teacher. Pandey, who used to teach the
Italian-born Sonia Hindi after her marriage to Rajiv Gandhi on February 25, 1968, has been nominated from the Varanasi
constituency.
A senior leader said Kesri had promised the Varanasi seat to Devendra Dwivedi, former party general secretary and a close associate of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao. "By denying Dwivedi a ticket, Sonia has ensured that nobody who is even remotely close to Rao gets
nominated," he told Rediff On The NeT. "It is not a Congress show, but a show of strength by
the Sonia coterie," the Congress leader added.
Sonia has also nominated Shiv Pratap Mishra and Arun Kumar Singh Munna from the prominent
constituencies of Machhilishahr and Jaunpur respectively in UP. Both Mishra and Munna looked after the Amethi constituency when Rajiv represented it.
While the Amethi seat has gone to Captain Satish Sharma, an old Rajiv crony, it was at
Sonia's behest that former Union minister Shiela Dixit, one of her close associates, has been nominated from East Delhi.
By fielding Dixit, Sonia eliminated the possibility of Congress veteran H
K L Bhagat contesting the election.
Many in the party believe Kesri and the CEC took the extreme step of removing Bhagat and other
prominent leaders Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler from Delhi's election scene following hints from Sonia that the Congress should not nominate anyone associated with the anti-Sikh riots in 1984.
In Andhra Pradesh, Congress leader K S Rao, who is perceived to be very close to Arjun Singh and Sonia, has been nominated from the Machalipatanam seat. Despite his alleged involvement in the Jain
hawala scam and remaining in political oblivion for some years, former Union minister P Shiv Shankar has
managed to get a ticket.
Congress sources said Shiv Shankar, who had camped in Delhi for more than a month to
get a berth in the election, has been awarded the Tenali seat in AP "for his lasting loyalty to the
Gandhi family."
Another Rajiv loyalist C K Jaffer Sharief has been nominated from the
Bangalore North constituency despite pressure on the CEC
from a section of Congress leaders in Karnataka not to nominate him.
Sources said in Kerala, former chief minister K Karunakaran's decision to fight the poll from
Thiruvananthapuram is with Sonia's sanction. Most Congress leaders in the
state are opposed to Karunakaran's nomination as he is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
"Sonia has not only given him a ticket, but has promised to address a rally for Karunakaran in
Thiruvananthapuram," a senior leader from Kerala said, adding that "ticket distribution under Sonia
has become a tamasha."
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