The Gandhi Family: Curse on Congress and India

When Rajiv Gandhi won the massive majority, the man could have made real difference to the way India was governed. He did not and a major opportunity was lost. The best performing Congress government was when PV Narsimha Rao was at the helm and Manmohan Singh was the FM. This started to improve economically. Other talented Congress leaders started to climb the ladders of the hierarchy. Then Sitaram Kesri ruined Congress' administration. Also, the BJP started to come on it's own to occupy it's well deserved place in Indian polity to provide a Hindu Conservative option. Congress lost the election and was lost in direction. It is a pity that the leadership did not bring up one of their more capable leaders. Instead they went to Sonia Gandhi. Now for whatever warped reason, Congress seems to rally around the Gandhi family name. Sonia Gandhi started to attract large crowds. That had more to do with curiosity than admiration. She started to believe her own legend and decided to don the Rajmata mantle with Rahul as the Rajkumar. After that the BJP mandarins ran a misguided campaign and Congress came to power. Now as far as net votes were concerned, their vote percentage did not go up. But BJP's mistakes and regional party syndrome gave the power to Congress. Her legend grew. Now the Congress' inner party machinations are as dictatorial as they have ever been. Senior, more capable leaders have been reduced to the role of Gandhi family apologists. The only people in positions of real power are people who do not have any ability or at least any ability to challenge the family (I am sorry if that sounds too much like The Godfather). No talented Congressperson can go anywhere. Since Congress is the only other national party, it seems that the Gandhi family is not just a curse on Congress but also the nation.

The Gandhis’ Double-edged Sword
"But it's clear that the Nehru Gandhi family is not just the strength of the party, but also its weakness. Many sensible people now refrain from joining the party as they know that no matter how talented they are, their whole future would be dependent on the whims and fancies of one family and that they can anyway never think about reaching the top. Most of the young leaders who have joined the party in recent years are from political families, leading to a culture of nepotism that has in turn created disillusionment among those once interested in taking an active role in politics."
The article can be read at:
http://the-diplomat.com/indian-decade/2010/09/21/sonia-gandhis-double-edged-sword/