IBNLive Chat: Sonia unlikely to be PM even if Cong wins

POWER WOMAN: The renunciation of power and choosing of Manmohan Singh as PM were Sonia's masterstrokes.

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New Delhi: After 10 long years in politics, Sonia Gandhi still remains as enigmatic as ever. At the same time, she has also proven her credentials as a proficient leader of the Grand Old Party, a clever politician blending politics and policy to good effect and an adept hand in managing coalition era politics.

But has Sonia Gandhi finally grown into a politician in her own right? CNN-IBN's National Affairs Editor Diptosh Majumdar analysed the 10 years of Sonia as a politician in an Online Chat with readers on IBNlive.com on Friday. Here we reproduce the unedited text of the chat.

Bhavesh S Kothari: Is Sonia a reliable politician for the country or for National Congress Party ? There is no body as talented as Sonia in National Congress? Is National Congress a Political Party or Family Firm?

Diptosh Majumdar: Has she done anything to prove that her party's interests and those of the country clash in any way over the past four years. I think she hasn't. The foreign origin debate is largely over after the politics of renunciation. That was a clever move, you have to admit. And tell me which party is not a family firm? In India, the caste system was never meant to be hereditary , it became hereditary because we Indians love to ensure a good future for our children. Look at the way lawyers, doctors, IAS officers, film stars push their children in the same profession so that the children don't have to do the groundwork. Dynasty is in our genes. Let's not blame a foreign-born woman for that.

Raj: Don't you think that Sonia Gandhi has a facade of a politician which she is not?

Diptosh Majumdar: Every politician has a facade. You cannot be a politician without a facade. Vajpayee has it, Advani has it, even a politically naive Manmohan Singh has it. But Sonia Gandhi tries hard. I agree she doesn't have a clue of a lot of things but she has come a long way since she began in 1998.

Malleshwara: People and specially Media is in Awe of Sonia.. I dont think the party is run by Sonia.. It is run by a group of coterie.. So whats so great about sonia.. I think Mayawati, Jayalalitha and even to that extent Mamta is much more superior than Sonia.. UPA has not made any differnce to my life.. a Salaried class employee. When NDA was in power.. I was atleast able to Pick up a House and Car with Low interest rates then.. Today i have to shell more on daily vegetables groceries and essentials. The tax structure being so huge.. i am not able to invest.. Sonia and UPA have not made any difference to AAM Admi.. Your take?

Diptosh Majumdar: Even when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, there was a group of people very close to him who ran the show. It is with every regime. The leader and her close group of confidantes run the show....My take is that aam aadmi has benefited in the same manner in both regimes... I have seen from a close range how the ordinary man's own personal success story has not really needed any government support. I think in future the less governance we have the better.

G Santhosh: Is Sonia Gandhi a true political leader?

Diptosh Majumdar: If she is the most powerful person of the second most powerful democracy in the world, she has to be a political leader. India is much more difficult to administer than a single language, one religion-dominated United States.

Priyadarshi: What is big thing Sonia did? If you measure in terms of Lok Sabha seats Congress has, it is not much bigger to BJP holding or Congress was holding Sitaram Kesari times? What she did difference to congress is, earlier congress was contesting indepedently, but now she bowed to regional party & driving coalision govt. Left because -ve attitude towards BJP, giving much oxygen to congress. There are many states where still congress is non entity-UP, Bihar, WB, TN. Because of Sonia, in Maharastra, Meghalaya the power of congress reduces and NCP is growing. Sonia is enjoying unaccoutable power because sycophancy towards gandhi family rather any leadership quality like Vajpayee has before. So big thing about Sonia is just media creation, rather actual acceptance in masses. What is your opinion?