By Karan Thapar

"Buon giorno" said the voice on the phone. "Come stai?"

It was Pertie but I couldn't think of a suitable reply. So I kept silent.

"Well, go on" he said, filling the void. "The answer is bene. Or, if you're really on top of it, molto bene."

But Pertie wasn't calling to give me a lesson in Italian, even though he now insisted on referring to it as the mother tongue. Nor to tell me that Sonia Gandhi would now be known as Devi Sonia. These were simply the inevitable good-natured jokes that we shall hear a lot more of. Humour helps people accommodate themselves to a changed reality and Pertie was using it to the hilt.

No, Pertie's purpose was different and deeper. And when he turned to it I could tell he was deadly serious.

"It was really unfair of the BJP to claim that Sonia hadn't got a mandate or to insist that India wouldn't accept a foreign-born prime minister."

"Oh come on" I said, trying to sound placatory. "That was only politics and a bit of bad sportsmanship. Don't take them seriously. They were simply trying to cover up their defeat."

"Sorry" he said, cutting me off. There was a discernable edge to his voice. "The truth of the matter is more people voted for Congress and its allies than for the NDA. In fact, more people voted for Congress than for the BJP. So what are they going on about?"

I tried to answer but I soon realised Pertie had only paused for effect. He had no intention of giving away.

"Don't they realise that everyone who voted for Congress and its allies did so knowing that Sonia would be PM? In fact, they did so in the teeth of a campaign against voting for foreign-born Indians. It was a deliberate and conscious vote for Sonia and you can't deny that."

"Hang on a moment" I interrupted. I had to do it quickly before he started again. "Sonia was never declared the Congress prime ministerial candidate. So how could it be a vote for her?"

Pertie only laughed. In fact, he laughed so loudly I was a little disconcerted. I thought mine was a good reply but I could sense he was ridiculing it.

"Listen, that's what the BJP claims. But are you seriously telling me that people voted for Congress expecting to see Manmohan Singh as PM? Even he doesn't claim that. Sonia was the only Congress leader and she single-handedly represented the party. The others were conspicuous by their absence."

This time I didn't even try to interrupt. He had a point but I could also tell he hadn't finished.

"And do you remember the BJP slogan? Vajpayee versus a question mark. Well, if they won't accept the country voted for Sonia then they can't escape the conclusion that it's voted for the question mark. And have you realised what that means? The country decided that it wanted anyone but Vajpayee!"

"ABV" I said attempting a little joke.

Pertie only snorted but I knew he liked the pun. It was just that he wanted to score all the points himself.

"All right" I said. "I concede you're right. But only those people who voted for the 217 seats won by Congress and its allies voted for Sonia. And for now let's forget about the NCP voters with their doubtful position on the subject. But those who voted for the Left couldn't possibly have been voting for Sonia. And certainly BJP voters did not. So doesn't that mean that a majority of those who voted did not vote for her?"

"Oh come on!" Pertie sounded more tired than defeated. "Don't try to wriggle out using statistics. The majority of the country didn't vote. The turn-out was barely 55 per cent. But that apart, 33 per cent of India is below 18 and can't vote. So let's not talk about majorities."

"Then what?" The force of his argument seemed to have derailed my grammar. Anyway, I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"In a democracy the verdict of the majority has to be accepted by everyone. That's the cardinal error the BJP made. They're not just bad losers, they're also behaving like bad democrats."

I began to recognise the sacrifice Sonia had made even if her timing suggested irresponsibility.

"Think about it", Pertie concluded, his anger spent and his humour restored. "In the meanwhile, arrivederci."

"What?"

"OK, try ciao. That's more informal and friendly."