Looking for a face

CONGRESS President Rahul Gandhi has indicated to his colleagues that he is not aspiring for the Prime Ministerial seat in the 2019 polls. He is clear that defeating BJP should be the aim of Congress Party and is ready to enter into a coalition with even the smallest of parties across the political spectrum. Accordingly, Maratha patriarch Sharad Pawar is very active in consolidating the opposition. After the debacle in the Telengana elections, the chances of Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, appear to be dim. Mayawati is still embroiled in saving her brother and reportedly accumulated wealth. Bengal’s stormy leader Mamata Banerjee could find herself among the ‘also-rans’. Pawar seems to be the best networked. On the one hand, he is strident on farmers’ issues while on the other he is glove-in-sleeves with many corporates. Pawar is also ‘homely’ with Mamata, Naveen Patnaik, and even Akali scion Sukhbir Badal. In the end, it is the Congress which will be deciding who is going to be the face of the opposition parties in the 2019 elections.