Having bad-mouthed Sonia Gandhi for decades, having been personal and superficial in the public political discourse, having projected irrelevant issues on the national agenda, having been unable to debate and find solutions to the real problems that face our polity, the BJP has, in a recent poll, shown a dramatic decline. In contrast, the people of India, in their wisdom, have unequivocally accepted Sonia as one of them, their preferred prime leader, putting Vajpayee in second position, with no other BJP leader as their emphatic choice for the national stage.

It is a poll and polls have been known to go wrong, but it is clear that India respects Sonia Gandhi for her genuine concern and commitment to those who are less privileged and who need to be given support and dignity. Intentions are hugely important and Indians know well that it will take much effort and will to pull the poor out of their misery. As the below-the-belt attack led by the BJP gains momentum, Sonia Gandhi?s ability to take the onslaught upon herself with quiet dignity wins her many brownie points. She has emerged, for the common person, above the politics of squalor.

Other national leaders are seen busying themselves with crudely abusing their opponents, delivering nothing much on the ground and therefore losing out. Congressmen, in their usual, lazy fashion, are screaming for Rahul Gandhi to take over their responsibilities. Having spent the last two decades destroying their base, these men and women who corroded the national party by misusing their power and position, are now clamouring to survive on the back of the young member of parliament. It is so typical of those failed elected representatives and workers. To hear Rahul Gandhi speak at the plenary session in Hyderabad was most refreshing. It has silenced all those who had berated him in his own party, in the opposition as well as in academic, administrative and corporate circles. The constant, boring refrain about the dynasty, much like a needle stuck in the groove of a record, is fast becoming an inconsequential issue in an arena where other critical areas need to be addressed and solutions found.

Small wonder

Who cares whether the young, bright and energetic ?doers? are from a dynasty, or a political ?family? or from an unknown address as long as they have a dream to transform India into a vibrant society based on the strengths of cultural pluralism. This diatribe of dynasty et al is now pass?. The mould has to be broken, parameters have to change and this new generation of Indians must step out of the box. Tired, old politicians who are fifty-plus and more would do well to keep out, away from the emerging reality. Their insecurity is evident to all as they see their territory being usurped by a new breed of young and dynamic men and women. Thank the lord for that.

Hopefully, the predictable sing-song, drum-beating and verbal bashing that we have been witness to, that has made many feel ashamed and embarrassed, will die down and disappear. This political behaviour that has been inflicted upon us has degraded our culture and our dignity as a people.

When Rahul Gandhi says that the party must work first, to build the destroyed base, he is more than right. When he and Sonia Gandhi reject the sycophancy of their lazy Congress colleagues, they are right. When they place the blame for the lost fortunes of the party on the bad politics of Congressmen, they are right. It is for the larger family of Congress members to take on the challenge and restore a correctness in their political actions. Deliver the goods in the hinterland, dig the foundation and build a solid base, work relentlessly ? this must be the mantra. Small wonder then that traditional political families, with commitment and energy, continue to rule their parties.