As of now, Sonia's continuation in her present post since 1998 may not evoke too many adverse comments because the party's problems are not unknown. Just as the circumstances of her assumption of charge were unusual - she literally hustled the unprepossessing Sitaram Kesri out of the presidency - the need for her to stay on was also dictated by political and organizational considerations.

When she became the president, the party was clearly on a downhill slope, not least because of Kesri's blunders in ensuring an early demise for the H.D. Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral governments and thereby paving the way for the BJP's return. Kesri's goof-ups were matched by the BJP's percipience which saw it cynically dump its Hindu agenda and rope in people like Nitish Kumar, Ramvilas Paswan and even Farooq Abdullah.

The calming presence of Atal Behari Vajpayee at the top also gave the 24-party BJP-led alliance a semblance of stability. But for the Gujarat riots of 2002, it is not impossible that the BJP might have secured another term in 2004. After the defeat, Vajpayee himself held Narendra Modi responsible for the setback. However, the real gainer was Sonia, who was seen to have achieved the unthinkable of enabling the Congress's return to power. Then, her master stroke of making Manmohan Singh the prime minister achieved two highly significant political objectives - deprive the BJP of its “foreign origin” plank against her and make her appear in a new light in the eyes of the people.

This was the period, as also after the Congress's victory in 2009, when Sonia was seen as the right person in the right place. Her latest unchallenged “election” may also secure acceptance as a kind of inevitability in the given circumstances when the Congress may be in power, but is still far from securing a majority in parliament. This is not the time, therefore, for any organizational experiment.

Yet, the distinction between what is acceptable and what can begin to jar on political sensibilities is becoming blurred. Arguably, even a fifth term for Sonia as the president may pass muster, but only just. After that, the whole exercise will begin to look ridiculous. As it is, she has been the chief for a longer period - 12 years - than any other in the Congress, including her formidable mother-in-law who was party president for five years (1978-83) and Narasimha Rao (1991-96).

Clearly, the time is approaching when Sonia will be derided as a president for life. The scene will become even more embarrassing if her stint as party chief coincides with Rahul Gandhi's as prime minister. For the world's largest democracy, a mother-son combination in such crucial party and government positions will not be a matter of pride. Sonia's difficulty, however, is that even if she nominates someone else to take her place, the latter will be seen as a puppet.

The basic problem, of course, is that the Congress is caught in a trap. Only the Nehru-Gandhi family can lead it to success and, at the same time, it stifles the growth of others. What used to be said about Jawaharlal Nehru - that he was like the banyan tree which does not allow any other plant to grow under it - is very much true today about the party's first family. Even if it allows a free play of opinion, the aura of the dynasty is so great that the chances of anyone else developing a base of his own and becoming a notable power centre are minimal.

It was an accident of history which has given the family such a firm grip on the party - and also on large sections of the country. It was Lal Bahadur Shastri's death after only a year and a half as prime minister which ensured that Nehru's 17 years in power (1947-64) would be followed by Indira Gandhi's 11 years (1966-77) to make the country so accustomed to having a Nehru-Gandhi at the helm as to rule out any other alternative.

This perception was strengthened by, first, the failure of the Janata interregnum (1977-80) which led to another nine years of rule by the dynasty - Indira (1980-84) and Rajiv Gandhi (1984-89), and, secondly, by the blunders of the V.P. Singh government (1989-90), which plunged the country into the Mandal-kamandal cauldron.

Then, the BJP's disturbing record - anti-Muslim riots in 2002, anti-Christian riots in Kandhamal in 2008 - paved the way for the Congress's and the dynasty's return. But the party's child-like dependence on the family cannot be a matter of long-term satisfaction for either. (IPA Service)