Sonia's entry may split Cong: Mahajan - The Indian Express

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National general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Pramod Mahajan today
said the Congress will split vertically if Sonia Gandhi imposes her leadership on
the party. Mahajan was addressing a press conference here today.

Dismissing the news of Sonia formally joining the Congress as no surprise ("Sonia
had joined the party on March 21, and the Congress withdrew support to the Gowda
government on March 30,") Mahajan said, "Sonia cannot be more powerful than Rajiv
Gandhi (was)." He said Rajiv had proved so unsuccessful that he presided over
reducing the strength of the Congress in the Lok Sabha from 425 in 1984 to about
220 in 1989, and would have perhaps won about 143 seats in 1991, if he had
survived. If Rajiv, in his heyday had proved so unsuccessful then Sonia was not
going to make a big Difference to the party, Mahajan said. He said Indian society
gives a secondary status to women even if it helps perpetuate dynastic rule.

"It is, however, true that the Congress needs a crowd puller," he quipped

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