Even as Sonia Gandhi prepares to pass the baton to her children in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh elections, it is obvious that she is not only opting for semi-retirement a few years too early but also that she is leaving the Congress in more derelict state than ever before in its 131 years.
At 69, Sonia is only four years older than Narendra Modi. In the normal course, she could have carried on for several more years.
But indifferent health has apparently forced her to opt for a change of guard at the party’s helm with Rahul Gandhi being groomed to take over as the party chief, although there is little doubt that she will continue to play a major role in the Congress and in the country’s politics in the foreseeable future.
When the history of these times is written, her retreat from formal leadership will however be seen to have taken place when the party is going downhill. She will not be handing over a healthy organisation to her children but an ailing one.