Will Sonia Gandhi allow the deification of YSR?

Well, YSR did not make it. The antiquated and ill equipped Bell Helicopter that carried him and four others splattered their mortal remains all over some hills in an impenetrable jungle in Andhra Pradesh. Thus, YSR became a victim of a system he probably espoused, at least publicly, and one which leads to inefficiencies such as this. Add to this the fact that the royal family (and now the subedarni) sucks up too much resources meant to protect political leaders. But we digress.

Naturally, the floor is now wide open for poring over details of the man's legacy. Some people perhaps rightly feel that YSR does not deserve the eulogizing. However, we feel that the main resistance to YSR's deification will come from unexpected quarters.

Historically speaking, the Congress party has always resisted big players from outside the family. As a matter of fact, when such a leader becomes too big, they tend to do the party harm since every bit of popularity of such a leader chips away a little bit of brand value of the family. In that sense, YSR had outlived his usefulness, having solidly secured the party's victory in both state and national elections (please note, we do not want to start any conspiracy theory). Also, a regional leader is perceived as threatening to competing regions, a disadvantage which the family does not suffer due to its aseptic image.

If there is one defining thing about Sonia Gandhi, it is how zealously she has been building up her late husband's legacy. HaindavaKeralam lists over 450 institutions, schemes, awards, roads, hospitals etc. named after the Gandhi family - note how many of them bears the Rajiv moniker. Does Mrs. Gandhi herself drive this or is it the sycophants? Perhaps a bit of both.

Only recently, they wanted to name an irrigation scheme after YSR, but as soon as the news spread, they quietly renamed it. As you can see, they do not want any brand dilution.

Soon they will run out of schools, colleges, Government institutions, roads, buildings, hospitals, awards etc. to name after Rajiv Gandhi. Perhaps they will have to start renaming places soon. There is a talk of renaming the Cuddapah district after YSR. Will Sonia Gandhi allow this? Actually she could, as it would set the precedence.