Having braved out bucketfuls of charges, accusations and allegations on corruption and price rise for a better part of the three-and-a-half-year term of UPA-II, the Congress seems to be at a crossroads: to pull up its socks to face the nation in mid-2014 or stay on the reforms bus, and thereby risk more allegations. As the smog and haze gave way to a bright and sunny early-winter Friday morning, senior Congress leaders and ministers, gathered at Surajkund in Haryana, near the national capital, for a daylong session to deliberate on policy and pragmatism, sought a bit of both in the run-up to the general elections.

But as expected, and as these columns, and much of the nation, had predicted earlier, plain-speaking was somehow left back in Delhi by the mango people among the Congress top leadership, though there was a lot of ‘dialogue’ for sure. Quoting Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi, The Hindu reported that 40 of 66 leaders present at the Surajkund seminar spoke. Quoting a minister who was part of the assemblage, the same report said, “Ms (Sonia) Gandhi did not want anyone to restrain their punches, but most speakers were diplomatic, only relatively frank.”

With public anger palpable against the decision to put a subsidy cap of an annual six on LPG cylinders, many party leaders are learnt to have asked for a rethink on the issue. While defence minister AK Antony reminded his colleagues that Congress is a party of the “aam admi”, indicating softening on the economic and fiscal reforms front, seen as anti-people by a large section of the people, the meeting saw a majority of leaders demanding a populist budget with significant income tax sops and programmes to reach out to all sections.

Batting for the economic reforms, prime minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram, however, found strong allies in party president Sonia Gandhi and her son, and Congress general secretary, Rahul. Like their stand speeches at the huge Congress rally on the capital’s Ramlila Maidan on November 4, the mother-son duo gave full backing to Singh-Chidambaram’s reforms measures.

But Sonia Gandhi also gave a clear message that the government should understand the difficulties of the party. "With a year and half left for the Lok Sabha elections, both (the) party and government will have to work cohesively to ensure that we secure a renewed mandate," she said. And as a first step towards a sound better coordination, she announced formation of a coordination group and sub-groups with specific tasks.

Besides Singh, Sonia and Rahul, cabinet ministers and Congress working committee members participated in the ‘dialogue meeting.

But despite the crafty batting by Messrs Singh and Chidambaram, and solid support by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the government’s, and the Congress party’s, second innings — from here till the 2014 elections — looks set for more populism than policy. And the first indications for that came on Friday itself, with almost everyone seen to be rushing to board the bus with the two Gs on way to the venue. Cost-cutting? Hardly. Populism? You bet.