The four muskeeters: Are times changing for the Congress?

In the Congress, the Party President is supreme. So the President cannot make any choices without a lot of consideration, as the future repercussions might be huge.

So who exactly has she chosen to run the party for the next few weeks?

One of the things that seems to surprise many is the fact that the big three - Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram - are not in the core committee formed to run party affairs.

Why this seems surprising to anybody is the real surprise.

The 'big three' are in power, ministers with massively powerful portfolios, in the dead center of all the major scams and their track record in government does not inspire much confidence on their administrative skills.

They are precisely the kind of people the Congress is trying desperately to distance itself from.

The men selected to run the Congress party (which is VERY different from the Central Government, although most seem to forget that fact) have several factors in common - they have been loyal, they have been heavily involved in the day-to-day running of the party and they are close to Sonia Gandhi.

Defence Minister Antony is unquestionably loyal to the party, has a clean image, is a Christian and popular among party workers. He has also always been a Sonia insider.

In fact he is one of the few Government ministers who has kept his job for seven years straight and kept out of the limelight. Such a rare ability must definitely be put to good use.

Party Secretary Ahmed Patel's post seems a bit vague. What exactly do Party Secretaries do? Be close to the Party President it would seem.

The unmovable rock of Sonia Gandhi's meetings, interviews, plans, strategies, suggestions etc, Patel's credentials are unquestionable and his seat in the core committee almost inevitable. And he is a Muslim.

Janardan Dwivedi is a slightly odd choice. He has been the party spokesperson since 2009 and handled himself well in that post. He is also cool, composed and not prone to making the kind of statements that Digvijay Singh or Manish Tiwari are renowned for. He is a calm voice who will keep everyone from going over their heads. And he completes the religious triumvirate as a Hindu.

The last, technically first in terms of hierarchy, has a wonderfully untouchable credential - he is the great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Rahul Gandhi, of course, HAS to be in the core group. Because the average Congress party work could not possibly sleep at night if a Gandhi, any Gandhi, were not running the party.

Rahul Gandhi also has bigger ambitions that his party has created them for him. His choice in the matter seems to concern no one. The Congress wants him to be their front man, to lead them as Party head and the nation as Prime Minister in the upcoming 2014 elections.

Rahul is an oddball of sorts. He gives no media interviews and prefers to build his base through the rural vote. He has actively sought a 'people's person' tag and his acts - sleeping in farmer's homes, meeting them in their fields, traveling in local trains, stopping to eat at random road side dhabas - are all aimed to craft this image.

He could possibly genuinely want to gain power through the will of the people than the will of his party. We shall never know true intentions, only what he does.

But the position in the core committee is a sign that matters have taken a more serious turn. He will now effectively head, even if temporarily, the most power political entity in India. Whether he likes it or not, he has been indirectly chosen to take over the reins.

The times are a'changing, not only for Rahul Gandhi but for the Congress party as a whole.

The government is in disarray, the party in panic. Charges of corruption, inefficiency and downright mismanagement are hounding the Congress and it is obvious to the world and its grandfather that either the Congress needs to change or concede the next election.

This might be their chance, possibly their only chance before the 2014 elections, to prove that they can reform themselves.

Let us hope they don't become mere caretakers - keeping the seats warm until the real powers return.