Political Diary
New Delhi, 24 May 2016
Congress Loses Plot
CHALNA HAI PAR KAHAN?
By Poonam I Kaushish
When the going gets tough the tough get going. Bluntly, not
in the Congress lexicon. Instead, the Party is intent on following the dictum: Bhagteh chor ke langot he sahi. Roughly,
you run away to fight another day! But, chalna
toh hai, par kahan?
Naturally, the defeat in Assam and Kerala, a distant second
to Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and third in Tamil Nadu is a big blow to
the Congress and shows that the its decline since the Lok Sabha elections
wherein it touched a historic low of 44 seats has not ebbed.
Shockingly, the Party has lost nine Assembly elections and
is reduced to ruling in just six States: Karnataka, Himachal, Uttarakhand,
Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Even in Bihar,
it is a junior partner of the Nitish-Lalu Mahaghatbandhan.
Worse, it enjoys the confidence of a mere six per cent of India’s one
billion plus population which is a dampener to its ambitions to replace the
Modi Government in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
On the personal front, the results undoubtedly will further
delay Rahul’s elevation as Congress President, already there murmurs for
immediate organisational revamp. Not mincing words, senior leader Digvijay
Singh has demanded “major surgery.”
Predictably, the post mortem of the results ran its natural
course: Faith in the Ma-Beta
Sonia-Rahul duo was reaffirmed. While Sonia called for “deep introspection and
rededicated the Party to the service of people with greater vigour,” sic, Rahul
conveniently foisted blame on the State units, talked of putting correctives in
place and said the Party would “work harder”.
Really? Forgetting that as leader, he has to take this hard knock on the
chin.
Yet, there is gnawing concern in Party circles over the
series of defeats. As it stands Sonia Gandhi has been Congress president for a
record 18 years and there is still no clarity. Moreover, the Party is seeped by
factionalism. Raising a moot point: How does it aspire to govern the country
when it is losing State after State?
Disgruntled leaders, dejected workers and directionless
cadres surreptitiously and quietly blame Rahul and his coterie for the ills
that afflict the Party. True, post his over 50-day sabbatical, Rahul has become
more articulate but has failed to bring about any major organizational change
in the Party's central set up since the Lok Sabha defeat.
He is criticized by leaders who left the Party. Confided a
senior leader, “When I went to meet him subsequent to getting an appointment
after four months, while I talked he continued to play with his dog. In disgust
I quit. He only likes to surround himself with blue-blooded people.” A perfect
recipe for disaster.
A case in point, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is
instrumental for BJP's victory, left the Party as Rahul refused to see beyond
the Gogoi father-son. Any wonder, many Congressmen want Sonia to continue at
the helm. There also have been occasional suggestions that Priyanka should be
brought in.
Sarcastically commented another senior leader, “Our Yuvaraj wants to build the Party from
scratch, but how can he clear the Congress millstones when his own balance
sheet shows a nil balance?” Sadly, instead of admitting that Rahul is a
non-starter, his coterie keeps making excuses. Further, there is mutual
antipathy between them and the old guard.
This is not all. For the first time Congressmen are quietly
questioning Sonia’s intentions and policy of protecting-her-son-at-all-cost.
“We have to individually and collectively draw appropriate lessons from the
unprecedented setback”, said she. Sic
The most unpleasant
aspect of all this is the withering of internal democracy. It has made the
Party hopelessly dependent on initiative from above and tragically immobile in
its absence. Only those who serve loyalty flourish in the “nomination culture”.
Being political parasites, they are as loyal as Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
Slowly but surely the
Congress finds itself in an existential battle. The Party faces multiple
challenges: Effectiveness of Rahul’s style and inner-Party experiments and the
negative tag of being a ‘reluctant leader’.
Coupled with the fact that the Congress is today saddled with small time
netas who at best can come up with
tokenism and “me-tooism”.
Sadly, the system has become so dynastic in mindset that
none even contemplate anyone else. This is all the more ironical as there is no
paucity of talent within the Party. There are many who have shown their mettle
as good leaders. But the big question: Will Congressmen accept them? Could they
carry the Party?
What next? Clearly, the Congress needs to boost the morale
of its workers, forge unity in its units, bring a generational change of young
fighters who put their heart and soul in building the Party and promote new
leaders in States. Else it can write off coming to power in 2019.
Rahul will face a complex situation while establishing his
leadership. The timid mindset that has developed over the years in the
Congress, which attaches a premium to loyalty and sycophancy, will be hard to
counter. The darbari culture, which
he seems to be allergic to, can't be genuinely replaced without his own
credentials coming under scrutiny.
Undeniably, RaGa will have to be less and less radical as he
establishes himself. Consequently, in its comatose present state the battle at
the hustings next year in Punjab, UP and Gujarat
are crucial for him and the Congress. The Party could disintegrate if it fares
poorly. Especially as Rahul continues to be seen as 'work in progress'.
The writing is on the
wall. As long as Sonia-Rahul’s Congress ostrich like continue to bury there
heads in the sand, the down slide will continue. This is not good for India as it is
vital there be a strong Opposition to keep the Government of the day in check.
The resurgence of the regional Parties also does not portend well for the
country given their mohalla mentality
and myopic vision.
The time is ripe to rid the Party of deadwood, vested
interests and Johnny-come-lately’s. True, nobody has openly asked for Rahul’s
head but if he continues his status quoits attitude it could be difficult to
quell the storm. To rise again, Rahul will have to improve his ways, establish
his leadership and take the Party along with him.
Clearly, RaGa has to
think beyond gimmicks, politricking and stop scoring debating points. He needs
to evolve a collective style of functioning and win back the trust and
confidence of the people in terms of his ability to find solutions to the major
problems confronting the country. If the internal discord between the old guard
and the baba log continues it could
have serious ramifications.
The Congress needs to
realize that the occasion is far gone to “introspect”. It must act and act now
if it wants to resurrect its crumbling edifice. Politics is a heartless and
unforgiving mistress. Else be reduced to a non-entity, tragic for the Grand
Dame of Politics.
Consequently, the Party
needs to make an assessment of the Ma-Beta’s
calibre, else dump them and find a way out of its predicament. Realize there is
a political rainbow beyond the Gandhi Family. Else as Mirza Ghalib succinctly said: Umar Bhar Hum Yun Hi Ghalti Karte Rahe,
Dhuul Chehre Pe Thi Aur Hum Aaina Saaf Karte Rahe! ---- INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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