NEW DELHI, 15 May 2004 — Sonia Gandhi, the prime minister-in-waiting, is set to be elected as party leader by the Congress Parliamentary Committee today. This formality will be followed by Sonia meeting President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to lay claim to the formation of a Congress-led government.
“She will be elected leader by the Congress Parliamentary Party on Saturday and should take oath on Monday,” a Congress official said.
On the possibility of allies objecting to her becoming prime minister, Congress General Secretary Oscar Fernandes said: “There is a consensus on it. The allies have said ‘you elect your leader and we will support her’.”
With only 219 seats in Parliament, Congress and its allies are looking for support from a leftist bloc of 62 members to cobble together a government.
Sonia has been promised their support. But the country’s markets, which at first welcomed her victory as a sign of stability, plunged after a day of criticism by key communist leaders of economic reforms — especially plans to sell India’s inefficient and monolithic state firms.
Bombay’s benchmark share index crashed more than six percent to its weakest close since November and the rupee ended at a four-and-a-half month low.
The country’s largest communist party, with more than 30 seats, said it would oppose the privatization of profitable state firms and urged the axing of the Disinvestment Ministry, saying the job could be done by other ministries.
Congress leaders quickly tried to stem the flow and the likely new finance minister, Manmohan Singh, pledged that the party would press ahead with the country’s liberalization drive.
“We will pursue policies that promote rapid social and economic development, growth of savings and investments, create a favorable climate for enterprise,” Singh told reporters.
Sonia joined the chorus, telling the BBC it was logical for Congress to continue the liberalization program.
“The reforms were initiated by the Congress government. They were initiated and carried forward by the Congress government. So naturally they will be carried on,” she said.
The comfortable lead of Congress in Parliament has silenced leaders like Sharad Pawar and Mulayam Singh Yadav who see Sonia’s foreign origin coming in the way of her becoming the premier. Even if Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, which has nine members, were to walk out of the alliance, the coalition would have 274 members (including the communists) to maintain majority.
While Mulayam’s Samajwadi Party has 36 members, it is hardly in a position to bargain with Congress and the Left.
