has recovered from her recent illness. The Congress could be happy about Mamata's overt anti-BJP crusade. But it should be wary also of her covert anti-Rahulism. It is apparent that Mamata is practicing in public what many other Opposition leaders believe in private: The reluctance to accept Rahul as the next prime minister.

During the past few weeks, Banerjee has emerged as an important player in national politics. She has gone out of her way to meet leaders from the North and South in a bid to put together a federal front against the BJP. Indicating that being anti-BJP is her only ideology, she has parleyed with leaders of parties as disparate as the Shiv Sena, Telangana Rashtra Samiti and Aam Aadmi Party. Her stance shows acceptance for anybodywith more seats than its own likely tally in 2019? The answer lies in Mamata's anti-Rahul politics. In every likelihood, the Congress will either have to forgo its dream of leading the next government, or it will have to ask Rahul to step aside for someone else within the Congress.

Mamata's reluctance to deal with Rahul is understandable. She has been in politics since the days of his father, the late Rajiv Gandhi. For her, it would be difficult to accept Rahul as leader just because he is the latest beneficiary of the dynastic culture of the Congress. And, like her, other senior leaders like Sharad Pawar, Chandrababu Naidu, and K Chandrasekhar Rao may have problems with the Gandhi scion. In all likelihood, they would say no to his