Taking a cue from her mother-in-law, who made herself the issue in the 1971 polls, Sonia appears to be attempting a replay in 1999. In 1971, Indira Gandhi countered the ``Indira hatao'' campaign by her opponents with her famous ``Garibi hatao'' slogan and it worked. She got the majority she sought which established her as a leader with unquestioned authority in the Congress party.

History may or may not repeat itself. But Sonia and her advisors have delved into the past for a strategy to try and turn a disadvantage into an advantage.

Sonia's strategists are clearly positioning her as the focal point ofthe forthcoming elections. By making her the main issue, they are hoping to blunt the BJP's Vajpayee-versus-Sonia plank and turn the polls into a referendum on Sonia Gandhi.

A Congress leader close to 10Janpath said that Sonia will concentrate on wooing the weaker and less privileged sections of society which were Indira Gandhi's traditional vote-banks. They feel the Gandhi mystique still weaves its magic with these groups and this is the party's best bet in a tricky situation.

``The stand taken by Pawar and others has given her the opportunity to go on the offensive like Indira Gandhi did in 1971,'' said a Sonia loyalist. ``She will appeal to the Dalits and women voters for their sympathy and support.''She is of course taking a big gamble. The Congress today does not have the formidable network it had even after Indira split the party in 1969. And then, 1999 is not 1971.

Dalits in UP, MP and Maharashtra, for instance, have found a political voice in parties like the BSP and the RPI. Tribals in Bihar have grouped themselves into different factions of the JMM. The feudal politics of patronage on which Indira's Congress thrived may thus hold little appeal for the more aggressive sections in search of aparty they see as their own.Sonia's appeal against the ``Sonia hatao'' campaign is aimed at generating chemistry, but she will have to take another leaf out of her mother-in-law's book and work out arithmetic necessary to win .