Her main claim to fame has always been that she is Jagjivan Ram's daughter. There is little doubt that her lineage played a crucial part in her election victories, as from Sasaram in the recent poll. Otherwise, either as a foreign service officer or as a minister in the Union cabinet, there has been nothing much to make her stand out as an exceptional person.

On the contrary, her views as the minister for social justice and empowerment in the last cabinet were typical of the traditional Congressman of an earlier period. Little wonder that she was a supporter of Arjun Singh's controversial plans in favour of reservations for OBCs in the higher educational institutes, which had upset not a few in the party and which is believed to have played a part in keeping the former HRD minister out of the present cabinet.

Yet, if a supporter of the measure has been rewarded in a manner which she could hardly have expected, the reason apparently has to do with the factors unrelated to her views and personality.

There is little doubt that it is her Dalit background which is responsible for her rise to such a high post as the Lok Sabha Speaker. Before her, the Congress was said to have considered the candidatures of Kishore Chandra Deo and Girija Vyas - the former for being a tribal and the latter for being a woman.

Again, as is obvious, it isn't the capability to preside over a boisterous House which guided the selectors in the Congress, but a consideration of the kind of background which has the potential to impress an influential section of voters.

As a Dalit and a woman, Meira Kumar fulfils two vital criteria where the party's bases of support are concerned, for the choice will reinforce the Congress's pro-Dalit and pro-women credentials.

There is another reason. The outcome of the latest election seems to have convinced the Congress that both the Muslims and the Dalits are returning to the party. The party's performance in UP, which was beyond all expectations, has confirmed this belief. Even before, its desire to rebuild the party's old Brahmin-Muslim-Dalit vote bank has been obvious from Rahul Gandhi's tours of the country, and especially of the Hindi heartland.

During the turbulent Nineties, the Congress lost the upper castes to the BJP, the Muslims to the splinter groups of the former Janata Dal and the Dalits to the BSP. If the Muslims are now seemingly ready to forgive the party for its sins of omission and commission during the Babri masjid demolition, the reason is that the Nehru-Gandhi family has taken the reins of the party firmly in hand.

It is the same reason why the Dalits, too, may be having second thoughts, especially when Mayawati has failed to live up to their expectations, as her less than satisfactory performance in the last elections in U.P. has shown. It is not for nothing that Rahul Gandhi has been making a special effort to spend time with the Dalits in the state. What is more, the fact that his efforts have succeeded in upsetting Mayawati could be seen from her graceless remarks about how he washes himself with a special soap after consorting with the Dalits.

It is to consolidate the seeming success of Rahul Gandhi's interaction with the Dalits that the Congress has decided to play the Meira Kumar card. It is too early to say whether the ploy will succeed or not. But there is little doubt that it will have an impact at a time when the Congress is seen to be in the comeback mode.

When another Dalit, K.R. Narayanan, was made the President, the Congress was down in the dumps. As a result, it created hardly a ripple where its support bases were concerned. Kanshi Ram and Mayawati were riding high then.

But, now, the tide seems to have turned. There is a mood of high expectations in the air. Moreover, the parties of both Mandal and kamandal have run their course. Now, it is the time of either those regional parties which focus on development and have an inclusive outlook, or national parties like the Congress, which have tried to accommodate everyone under a Big Tent.

It is in this context that the Congress has played the Meira Kumar card as if to tell the Dalits that they have a better chance of advancement under a national party. If she proves to be a success as a Speaker, as the tribal P.A. Sangma once was, then it isn't only the Dalits but the entire country will have reasons to cheer. (IPA Service)