UPA II marks its third year waiting for … Godot

On May 16, 2009, hours after it became clear that the Congress would be returning to power at the head of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the green latticed doors at 10, Janpath swung open. Party president Sonia Gandhi stepped out and walked briskly towards the black BMW that had just swept in. Accepting a bouquet of red carnations from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who emerged from the car, she beamed, and said, “Mubarak ho.” Minutes later, cutting short the expected babble of Gandhi acolytes who had already stepped up the demand to make Rahul Gandhi Prime Minister, she said firmly, “Rahul has made it clear, as I and the party have — Dr. Manmohan Singh is our prime ministerial candidate.” As the two stood together, a bank of microphones before them, they projected a perfect picture of partnership that had, despite the sceptics, worked.

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