Neglect, no direction and a wave of desertions

Congress’ revival in the Northeast will be difficult unless its leaders sort out their differences and work together

If one part of the story from Northeast elections is the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a related element is the decline of the Congress. Indeed, the former would not have been possible without the latter.

Shillong and Aizawl are the only capitals in the region with Congress governments. In the forthcoming set of three elections, the Congress is struggling to retain power in Meghalaya. The stakes are high, because a defeat will leave the Congress with power in only three states across India.

In Tripura, where it had got 36.5% of the votes in 2013, it has shrunk drastically, ceding political space to the BJP. Leaders admit they may not win a single seat. And shockingly, in Nagaland, it could not even find 60 candidates to field across the state. And so its best-case scenario remains a score of one out of three, while the BJP hopes for at least a two or even a score of three on three.

What explains this startling fall in the Congress’ fortunes? There are certain things outside its control at the moment. Being in the Opposition at the Centre makes it less attractive for local political elites. In addition, it has made mistakes.

One, the Congress high command is not invested in reviving the party in the region. To be fair, the Congress has limited resources. And it has to invest wisely, which is why it gave its all in Gujarat and is now investing all its energy in Karnataka. But this cannot be an excuse for ceding states, especially in a region in which it has had a historical grip. This neglect has taken several forms.

Rahul Gandhi has made one visit to Meghalaya and will campaign only once in Tripura. The general secretary in charge of these states, CP Joshi, is widely criticised by state leaders for mismanaging affairs. He has barely spent a day in Agartala in the past few years. The state units complain that the financial support from Centre is almost nonexistent — and their request for even a few crores of rupees is often turned down or delayed inordinately. If the message from the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCS) is that they don’t matter, their states don’t matter, a fall is inevitable.

The second problem is the level of faction- alism in each state unit. In Meghalaya, chief minister Mukul Sangma, veteran leader DD Lapang, and MP Vincent Pala aren’t the best of friends.

In both Nagaland and Tripura, the party president and working president are barely on talking terms. The Congress leadership in Delhi has let these disputes fester for too long. As a result, a lot of energy is drained, party morale sinks, and there is no sense of a coherent, unified party ready for battle. The art of taking decisions and hand-holding those who may be unhappy about it is missing.

Third is the inability of the Congress to stem the tide of desertions. Once again, while in Opposition, it is difficult to sustain a patronage network which can keep politically ambitious individuals happy. But that is when personal investment in wooing and retaining leaders, sustaining the morale of the cadre, and promising them a better

IN NAGALAND AND TRIPURA, THE PARTY PRESIDENT AND WORKING PRESIDENT ARE BARELY ON TALKING TERMS. THE CONGRESS LEADERSHIP HAS LET THESE DISPUTES FESTER FOR TOO LONG