Old guard finally does it for Cong
NEWDELHI: The deft handling of the Karnataka situation by Congress veterans has again proven their relevance in the party which is undergoing a generational shift after Rahul Gandhi took over as its chief in December.
Following the go-ahead from the party high command, experienced leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot helped outfox the BJP by offering unconditional support to the JD(S).
NEWDELHI: THE deft handling of the imbroglio following the Karnataka election results by Congress veterans has proven they still have a role in the grand old party, which is in the midst of a generational shift after Rahul Gandhi took over as its president in December last year.
Following instructions from Gandhi, the leaders moved swiftly to wrest the initiative from a rampaging Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Experienced leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, 69, and Ashok Gehlot, 67, were at the centre of the negotiations as the Congress offered unconditional support to the Janata Dal (Secular) with HD Kumaraswamy as chief minister.
While JD(S) leaders HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy found the offer too tempting to resist, the BJP had not anticipated the move, particularly since Gandhi had attacked the JD(S) during the campaign trail.
That the Congress, with 78 legislators was willing to play second fiddle to the JD(S), which had bagged 37 seats, was a significant departure from the past when the party, in a similar situation, would insist on the leadership role while negotiating post-poll alliances.
In Meghalaya as well, the party had to rush senior leaders Ahmed Patel, 68, and Kamal Nath, 71, to talk to potential alliance partners after the Congress emerged as the single-largest party in the election held in February this year. However, the BJP outsmarted the two Congress strategists and went on to form a coalition government in the state.
Gehlot had been entrusted with the task of handling party affairs in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, just before the assembly polls last year. The Congress for the first time in the past two decades gave a tough fight to the BJP, significantly improving its tally.
“The old guard is here to stay. You cannot forget them and move forward. It is the experience of seniors and energy of the youth that will take the party to new heights,” Congress leader from Bihar Kishore Kumar Jha said.
Gandhi had announced at the party’s 84th plenary that he would strive to build a new Congress with “talented” youngsters but maintained that he would take along both young and old in making the party a powerful instrument of change.
Observers say the old guard will play an important role in the Congress as it prepares for the 2019 elections.
“The senior leaders are a valuable asset for the Congress and are being deployed imaginatively. The old guard and the young eagles must work together if the Congress has to revive in states and nationally,” said Delhi-based political analyst Balveer Arora.
The immediate task for Gandhi after the Karnataka result is to carry out an elaborate organisational reshuffle of the powerful Congress Working Committee (CWC). The task is cut out for him —to maintain a fine balance between the old guard and the next generation.