New Delhi: Hyderabad is all set for the 82nd plenary of the Congress party from January 21 to 23, which could have been a grand event, one in which Congress would have showcased its achievments and chalk out an identity for itself, distinct from those of its allies.
But with the party facing a host of crisis ranging from Volcker, Bofors and now the political upheavel in Karnataka there is a growing apprehension among the party workers that some thing some where has gone terribly wrong.
The high points of the political mela was to be the party's achievements since it bagged power at the Centre after nearly eight years.
Congress's ability to stitch up alliances with parties which are not really like-minded was also to be highlighted but that has also gone up in smoke with the party facing criticism from an increasingly strident Left on the economic policies of the Central Government.
Left is most likely to increase its opposition to the economic policies of the Centre as the Assembly polls for West Bengal and Kerala come nearer.
Even the rank and file of the party have been voicing their concers on the economic direction of the Centre and also want that the foreign policy should not project any radical shift from its long standing centre-Left stance.
The plenary, which will be the first after the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power in May 2004 and will be held in the specially created Rajiv Nagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad, the main message for the party founded in 1885 would be to maintain its identity and to highlight the achievements of the Manmohan Singh government.
Although it heads a coalition, there are calls within the Congress that it should try to grow on its own, as much as possible.
Congress sources said there were strong demands from middle rank party leaders that the party and its government should take care that the "the common men, who are the real voters" should be kept in mind while preparing economic policies.
A case in point is the recent attempt by the government to reduce the subsidy on food meant for the poor. Faced with criticism, including from within the party, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar announced it would not be implemented.
Despite the successes of the economic reforms that Manmohan Singh, as finance minister, initiated in 1991, clearly many in the Congress are not happy with the overall direction and face of liberalisation.
Then, there is the Bofors ghost with Quattrocchi, in far away Milan, giving sleepless nights to Congress bigwigs and Sonia in her inaugural speech at the session will speak on party discipline.
But the Natwar Singh saga and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia's stand that they were unaware of Union Law Minister HR Bhardwaj's order to defreeze the accounts of Ottavio Quattrocchi also raises the question of discipline.
In keeping with Congress tradition, not many in the plenary may raise uncomfortable questions, but the Prime Minsiter and Sonia cannot avoid introspection.
Some laeders even feel that they will meet the same fate as the BJP's in the vent of a General elections if they continue with the current direction that the economic rtefor=ms are facing.
A section of the Congress leaders also want the government to review its foreign policy, which many feel is tilted towards the US.
They want more debate on foreign policy and feel that the party has jettisoned the earlier Nehruvian line on non-alignment and is toeing the American line on various international issues.
but most of the leaders believe that the achievements of Manmohan Singh's 19-month-old government need to be highlighted with a view to broadening the appeal of the party across the country.
Despite being in power and even though the BJP is faced with a crisis, Congress leaders are aware that it is unlikely to come to power on its own in New Delhi until its fortunes improve dramatically in some of the major states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Right now, its dominance is threatened even in states like Kerala where it once held sway.
The party's motto at the plenary is, building a future agenda on foundation of past with new responsibilities.
But shaken by Volker and Bofors and with shaky experience in coalitions politics, Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi faces a big challenge.
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