On January 24 2001, Sonia Gandhi, as the president of the Congress party, took a holy dip at Allahabad during the Kumbh Mela, an occasion of high religious significance. Sonia chose to make a twin statement by taking the holy dip at Triveni, trying to hush up the row about her foreign origins and showcasing a liberal-moderate alternative to the Sangh’s brand of Hindutva. Pictures of Sonia Gandhi taking a dip, performing Ganga puja, Ganpati puja, Kul Devta puja and Triveni puja were widely circulated when social media was yet to emerge as a powerful instrument of shaping public opinion.

Sonia had displayed a red thread tied around her wrist, reportedly given to her by a Hindu priest. She reportedly has a great faith in that red thread, believing that it protects her from all evil. Each time there is a family occasion, Sonia summons the family pandit from Banaras to perform religious rites.

Sonia’s decision to take a holy dip at Khumbh was influenced by inputs from Digvijaya Singh, M L Fotedar and Suresh Pachauri who had set up her meeting with Dwarkapeeth Shakaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, an old friend of the Congress and a bitter critic of Vishwa Hindu Parishad.

Sonia’s move to take a holy dip in 2001, was not easy or without controversies.  The Congress president ad reached Allahabad ahead of the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.  Sonia’s visit had come two days before the season's second shahi snan on amavasya (January 24). It had become a political issue rather than an administrative problem or a religious ritual. Congress leader Pramod Tiwari had accused the BJP-led government of politicising Sonia's Allahabad trip. "The BJP has converted it into a political decision which the administration has sought to implement. But all that Soniaji is doing is maintaining her family tradition. Panditji used to come to the Kumbh and later Indiraji used to visit Anandmayee Ma's camp at the mela," Tiwari had said while alleging that the Allahabad administration was bent upon blocking Sonia's Sangam visit on the "pretext that it may disrupt their arrangements."

Old timers recall that the Congress was miffed with Khumbh administrators because the human resources development minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, was permitted to take a dip on January 14, 2001 on the occasion of Makar Sankranti.  VHP vice-president Acharya Giriraj Kishore's riposte to Tiwari had angered many in the Congress when Kishore had remarked, "There's a difference. Joshiji belongs to Allahabad so it is his birthright." Tiwari had argued that Sonia would not pose a security threat because "she is not coming on a major bathing day and neither will she address a public meeting. Adding fuel to the fire was a "routine circular" that had gone to all VIPs asking them to avoid Kumbh till amavasya on January 24, 2001. The congress had termed the circular as an "advisory". The ruling Samajwadi Party was not too happy with Sonia's visit as chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had visited Allahabad, few days before Sonia visit but did not go to Kumbh or bothered to take a dip  in the Sangam.

In 1954, Congress prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru had taken a holy dip at Kumbh at Prayagraj.

[ Author-Journalist Rasheed Kidwai is a visiting Fellow of te Observer Research Foundation. He tracks government and politics and considered a specialist on Congress party affairs. ]