Scion of Gandhi Dynasty Breathes Life Into Party

Shankar Prasad Jaiswal, member of Parliament, sits cross-legged on a floor of hardened cow dung, shoves handfuls of rice into his mouth, shares a smile with the male members of this central Indian village and lets out a self-satisfied belch.

“People vote for me because I eat their food,” said Jaiswal of the Bharatiya Janata Party. “Last time I won by 100,000 votes. This time I’ll win by 200,000.”

Five miles up the road, in the holy city of Varanasi, a crowd of 150,000 is cheering with a delirium that in the United States is ordinarily reserved for football games and rock concerts. An Italian-born woman, dressed in a maroon sari, steps onto the stage, and the cheer becomes a chant.

“Long live Sonia Gandhi! Long live Sonia Gandhi!”

She grasps the microphone.

“My mother-in-law and husband laid down their lives for this country,” Gandhi said, referring to Indira and Rajiv, both killed by assassins. “I will be indebted to this nation for the love and affection given to me till my last breath.”

As 602 million Indian voters prepare to go to the polls in nationwide elections beginning Monday, the campaign has shaped up into a collision of two great forces: the BJP, a Hindu nationalist party surging on the strength of its emotional appeal and unabashed religious chauvinism; and Sonia Gandhi, scion of a political dynasty who, on the strength of her personality, has resurrected a corrupt, moribund Congress (I) Party and brought it to within a breath of rebirth.

Recent polls here show the BJP holding a slim lead that shrinks by the day before Gandhi’s attacks.

Voting continues through March 7.

A Series of Corrupt, Unstable Governments

The election comes at a troubled time for India, the world’s largest democracy. The effort to dismantle the socialist economy that has left India one of the most impoverished nations on Earth is entering its seventh year amid calls for retrenchment.

The postwar era of political stability that produced leaders of world stature--like Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru--has given way to a series of corrupt, unstable governments incapable of taking bold steps.

Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral’s government, whose collapse in November necessitated the elections, lasted seven months.

Until last month, the BJP seemed unstoppable. In villages and cities across India, BJP candidates tapped the rich vein of Indian nationalism, promising firm and honest leadership that would restore India’s pride and place in the world.

“The world is looking toward India,” Jaiswal told a group of villagers. “And in past years, we have been flooded by corrupt politicians. Only our party is untainted by corruption.”

The BJP promises to curtail India’s liberalization program by making some areas of the economy off limits to foreign investors. And the Hindu-based party threatens actions--such as the destruction of several mosques that it says are built atop Hindu temples--that are certain to inflame the passions of India’s 100 million Muslims.

Political commentators say the BJP has benefited from the implosion of the Congress Party, which led the fight to end British rule and ran the country for all but a few years since independence half a century ago. In the past three years, nine of its top members have been indicted on bribery and corruption charges, including former Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.

In Korout, a village of about 5,000 outside Varanasi, people seemed pleased that a politician--in this case, Jaiswal--visited them at all. People here said years of government by the Congress Party had done nothing to help them.

Most of the residents--members of a caste of pottery makers--live in huts. Rain floods the village’s unpaved roads, and the 6-foot-high stacks of cow dung cakes attest to Korout’s main source of fuel.

“The previous [member of Parliament] never did a thing for us,” said Parasnath Singh, a bedraggled 70-year-old standing amid his prized water buffalo. “For years I’ve been asking for a hand pump to get my water. Perhaps I will get one now.”

Gandhi Steps Into the Fight

Two months ago, the BJP seemed like a juggernaut headed for victory. All that changed when Sonia Gandhi stepped into the fight.

Not a candidate herself, and said to have a deep aversion to politics, Gandhi agreed to campaign for the Congress Party after urgent pleadings by its leaders.

Now, on the eve of the election, Gandhi has taken control of the party and virtually erased the BJP’s lead.

Crisscrossing the country, Gandhi, 51, has become a phenomenon, drawing vast crowds as she appears in the dress of her adopted country and speaks, with an Italian accent, in Hindi, her adopted tongue.

“Thirty years back, I came to this land as a 21-year-old bride. I knew little about India. I have seen all my happiness here, and it is here that I suffered my biggest loss,” she told a crowd in Calcutta. “I now stand alone. Except for my two children, I have only you, the people.”

Though her opponents have labeled her a “foreigner,” Gandhi has been an Indian citizen since 1984.

At every turn, Gandhi emphasizes her connection to the dynasty she married into. Her Indian-born children, Rahul and Priyanka, stand at her side as she campaigns. She invokes the names of the prime ministers who make up the Gandhi dynasty: her husband, Rajiv, murdered in 1991; her mother-in-law, Indira, struck down by assassins in 1984; and Nehru, India’s first prime minister and her grandfather by marriage.

Sonia Gandhi’s Italian birth does not seem to bother many who turn out to see her.

“Sonia Gandhi has all the qualities of an Indian woman,” said S.S. Jaiswal, who waited as the sun went down for Gandhi to arrive in Varanasi. “She wears a sari. She covers her hair. She is more Indian than Italian.”

Perhaps most important, Gandhi has changed the terms of the debate, hammering the BJP for what she says is its religious extremism and placing the party on the defensive.

“There are some people who are trying to spread hatred in the name of religion,” Gandhi told the crowd in Varanasi. “This is not the civilization that welcomed me with open arms. There is no place for hatred here.”

Her surprising entry into politics has transformed the Congress Party into a contender. Most polls show the BJP still ahead, but with the Congress Party possibly winning enough seats to form a coalition government.

“Sonia Halts the BJP’s March,” blared the cover of Outlook, a respected Indian weekly.

Most Voters Prefer BJP Candidate

Despite her popularity, most commentators believe that Gandhi stands little chance of becoming prime minister herself. Though the Congress Party could nominate her if it wins, Gandhi has said she does not want the job.

And despite her star value, Gandhi does not appear to be the first choice of most voters. Most polls show that they prefer the BJP candidate, A.B. Vajpayee.

S.K. Srivastav, a doctor from Varanasi, stood in a thick crowd for four hours waiting for Gandhi to arrive. When she did, he was impressed, but not necessarily persuaded. “I’ve come to see Sonia Gandhi,” Srivastav allowed. “But I’m not sure who I’ll vote for.”