Political
Diary
New Delhi, 1 September 2020
Purge Of G 23
GANDHIS, CONGRESS DNA
By Poonam I Kaushish
How does one react to
the on-going Grand Old Party’s Circus? Dismiss it as a storm in a tea cup, the
first challenge to Sonia’s authority since 1999 when Sharad Pawar raised the
banner of revolt or should one say a Rahul-style synchronized purge?
Predictably, the “letter
bomb” by G 23 including senior leaders Rajya Sabha Opposition and Dy leaders Ghulam
Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma ex Ministers Sibal, Tiwari and Prasad to Sonia sent
shockwaves. Despite it merely calling for sweeping changes to get the Party out
of its moribund morass and shed its inertia. From a “visible, effective and
full time leader”, free, fair and democratic elections at all Party levels and
establishing an institutional leadership to collectively guide the Party.
After a marathon
Working Committee meeting where Sonia repeated her resignation drama which was
in coordinated orchestra rejected, three things clearly stood out: The Party
which has been in the iron-grip of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has no chairs left.
The numero uno position is
non-negotiable and can only be occupied by a Gandhi and the Dynasty is the
Congress DNA. And Sonia is continuing to keep the seat warm for ‘ladla’ Rahul as President is a no
brainer. Big deal if this has exacerbated the sense of desolation within.
Five days later the
knives were out signaling vendetta. Sonia’s mantra of being a 24x7 Chief was by
replacing the ‘G 23’ heavy weights with a committee of light weights and “Rahul’s
boys” who neither have a mass base nor public connect. There are demands for
expulsion of ‘traitors’ while others are threatened. Notwithstanding, her ‘we
are one family and believe in forgive and forget’.
More, as if on cue Rahul’s
brood first crushed the call for change and then accused the G 23 of “failing
the Party. In 2009 we were 200 plus in 2014 we were down to 44. You were all
Ministers then. We should look into where you failed. Only Sonia-Rahul duo single
handedly are taking the BJP Government to task for its misdeeds.
Either way, the letter
is the first censure of the ‘Ma-beta’.
True, since 2014 tension has been simmering, murmurs against absentee Jack in
the Box Rahul, his disconnect with senior
leaders, taking a contrary view to the Party stand, his minions passing orders topped
by his calling the shots with no accountability etc.
Underscoring that even
after 14 months of the Party’s defeat Sonia and Rahul are filled with a sense of entitlement, even a strange
self-belief that all they have to do is show their faces and the voters will
vote them to power. Whereby, introspection and analysis for the Party’s decline
is anathema. Akin to Aseop’s famous tale
of the Chinese Emperor with no Clothes.
Oblivious of the
rapid erosion of the Party’s base, loss of confidence and ideological confusion
in its ranks over crucial issues like resurgence of Hindutva politics, debate on nationalism and the political narrative
being spun by Modi-Shah which is
weighing the Party down
and further weakening its position. Another defeat in the upcoming Bihar poll would further
test the Party as a viable alternative to BJP’s hegemony.
Further,
it has no clear vision or rather a vision which seems to be disconnected from
the twin objectives of fighting the BJP and reorganising the Party in a manner
that can make it a fighting unit against an unstoppable opponent. Specially
against the backdrop of the Congress’s shrinking vote nation-wide and the need
to expand its organization and social base in States ruled by Opposition Parties.
Alas, today the Party
directionless is in death throes facing an existential deep crisis, dependant
on its undaata and staring at a
lifeless and deathless life even as Sonia along-with her trusted lieutenants tries
to keep the sinking ship afloat. Factional feuds has split the Party down the
middle with leaders pulling in different directions in various States and
reared its ugly head in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Jharkhand. Worse, it seems
to have lost both its identity and function.
True,
the Party is not new to turmoil, dissent and splits having weathered many a
storm and come out trumps. But the difference this time is that it has been out
of power for more than six years which is compounded by Modi’s BJP becoming the
central pole of politics whereby the Congress holds out no hope as an
alternative, instead it continues its fixation for the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty by virtually
pleading with Sonia to continue as interim President, since October last, nearly
22 months after she handed over the baton to son Rahul in December 2017.
Asserted Azad, “We
want to fight the BJP but the Party has ensured we only fight for the ‘Family’ we
have lost credibility by being satellites of the Gandhi’s.” Quipped another,
the time is far gone when Barooha extolled ‘Indira is India and India is
Indira.’ Sonia is no Indira and today
the Gandhis’ are not the Congress.
“Undoubtedly, this is a difficult period for
the Party and not the time for adventure as it is close to extinction and could
probably die given its recent record. But it has nurtured elements of plural
democracy which could outlive it,” asserted a senior leader. Adding, “There is a
leadership vacuum of people who can make decisive, correct and timely decisions
and execute them over a long period.
“Yet,
it is hampered by the absence of strong ideology and solely reliant on the Family
which binds it together. The most unpleasant aspect is the withering of
internal democracy dogged by paralysis over the last few years. Being political
parasites, they cannot survive on their own and are as loyal as Vladimir
Nabokov’s Lolita. Today, it is in difficult unchartered terrain, out of power
with an unbeatable BJP yapping at its heels.”
Its
leaders, young and old, seem content with passing the blame to each other
rather than honestly reckoning with their own failings. This periodic
chest-beating almost never demands accountability from the Gandhi family who led
the Party to multiple poll debacles. This obsession for the Gandhis is possibly
the root of the Congress’s woes: A leadership and cadre that sees office as
privilege and inheritance, instead of a prize for hard work and perseverance.
Can the Congress be
saved at this late stage given it is engulfed in a dust cloud of falling
structural debris? Is revival possible? And does it even matter?
Surely,
an “ill” Sonia realizes it’s an emergency as the Party is in Secular decline with
a protracted inertia post its consecutive Lok Sabha defeats topped by a
leadership crisis. Time for her to democratically overhaul the Party, spell out
its ideological position on crucial issues instead of beating about the bush
and go back to real bread-and-butter issues to connect with the masses.
Her
choices are limited as there is little space for maneuverability. Either the Party
could “trudge along buying peace with the BJP” or elect a strong leader who
would lead it out of the morass. But in the absence of a political plan and
opting for cosmetic changes, this last road too seems to be one leading to a
kind of deathless death for the Party. It needs to quickly get its act together or
else will become as relevant as the Left is today.
Sonia
realizes only too well that politics is a game of perception whereby she has to
use all her experience, sagacity and political connections to pull the Congress
out of the quicksand it finds itself in. It remains to be seen how much she
will be able to deliver. The earlier she starts the better as the Congress
should not lead a lifeless life! Remember, politics is a heartless and
unforgiving mistress. ----- INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)
New Delhi
29 August 2020
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