Has the Congress rally finally bridged the party-govt gap?

On the face of it, the Congress rally in Ramlila Maidan might have had a huge following. But did it achieve the effect that the party desperately wanted, given the numerous allegations of scams and governance that the party is grappling with?

Manini Chatterjee, National Editor of The Telegraph, told CNN-IBN, “The very fact that the Congress decided to reach out to the party workers after a long time is significant. But one has to remember that they were speaking to their faithful, " indicating that it was difficult to gauge popular support for the Congress across the country by this rally alone.

She said, “But definitely it was a morale booster to the Congress party.”

According to sociologist Zoya Hasan, this rally has achieved something significant - it has dispelled the myth that the party and the government are not on the same page as far as economic reforms are concerned.

“But they chose the wrong issue to demonstrate their strength. They are unlikely to get middle class support,” she added.

According to her, this public endorsement of economic reforms goes against the normal stance of the party, because when Congress came to power in 2004 it had taken a leftist stance. In the course of its rule, it changed its stance and began endorsing and encouraging the economic reforms.

So, as Manini Chatterjee said, has this rally finally bridged the gap between the right of centre government and left of centre party?

Zoya Hasan feels that even though it has bridged that gap, the Gandhis - Rahul and Sonia, want to remain out of the government to give the impression that the party is still separate. “They are both insiders and outsiders to the government and the party,” she added.