The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The signals from Karnataka for Sonia Gandhi

The Hindu : Opinion / News Analysis : The signals from Karnataka for Sonia Gandhi: "Preference for status quo, unwillingness to crack the whip, and a fear of the old guard have combined to reduce the Congress to a losing proposition."

Two elements constitute this style: a conservative impulse and a timid approach to men and matters. This gets translated into (1) a failure to spell out definite goals; and, as a consequence, (2) an inability to put in place a lead team, with a recognised leader; and, (3) a dysfunctional, unexciting, unexacting, non-congenial working environment.

For instance, if there was one lesson of the defeat in Gujarat in December 2007 it was the absolute imperative of telling the voters who was the party’s chief ministerial candidate. The BJP had a chief ministerial face; the Janata Dal (S) had a declared chief ministerial mascot; the Congress had at least six claimants.