Only Cong can take on BJP in battle for India’s future: Rahul
UDAIPUR: As the Congress prepares to reboot its politics and organisation, former chief Rahul Gandhi announced that his party, and not the regional outfits, can take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in what he called as the “battle for India’s future”, redefining its equations with regional satraps amid their tremendous growth.
After a string of electoral losses, Gandhi asked Congress leaders to rebuild the party’s broken connection with the people, announced “the way we do our work must change” and hailed the “one family one ticket” formula and the “youth quota” at all levels of organisation. The party also announced to launch a nationwide yatra “Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo” beginning on October 2.
The party announced major changes in the organisation with the setting up of an election management department (a key suggestion of poll strategist Prashant Kishor) to fight elections effectively, and a task force to drive internal reforms.
The Congress will also set up a public feedback department to provide “rational feedback” on various issues for policymaking and a national training institute for training of party leaders and workers on the policies, ideology, vision, and policies of the government, and current burning issues.
Concluding the Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir, Congress president Sonia Gandhi announced a Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and an advisory body drawn from working committee members.
Reeling under several electoral defeats from both the BJP and regional parties, the Congress kept its doors open for “necessary alliances”. But Rahul Gandhi made it clear to the party that it’s the Congress that has to fight the BJP.
“The BJP doesn’t talk about regional parties. BJP knows that regional parties have their own space but they can’t defeat BJP due to lack of ideology,” he said. “Only Congress can take on the BJP.”
He also concluded that “regional parties would not tolerate the type of conversation we had”, referring to the Chintan Shivir that saw blunt messages as well as key suggestions to the senior leadership.
The Congress has suffered losses from several regional parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi and Punjab, the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and YSR Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh. While regional parties have shrunk its space in eastern and southern India, AAP has emerged as a key challenger to the Congress in northern India.
Gandhi spoke of the party’s larger battle against “big powers” and “all institutions and the biggest crony capitalist”. What is widely seen as a hint of his return to leadership, he announced: “But don’t be nervous. I am there with you.” Rahul Gandhi boasted his clean image to say: “I have not taken a single rupee from Bharat Mata,” and pitched for overhauling the party’s communication.
With the party revving up its campaign and launching the Kashmir to Kanyakumari yatra, Gandhi harped on the need to reconnect with the masses. “Our focus must be external. We have to look at the people and go to the people. We have to go to the people without thinking twice. The connection we had has been broken. We have to accept that and rebuild the connection with people. People want us and we have to reach out to them, it is our responsibility. The entire party will go to the people for months, conduct yatra and rebuild the ties,” he said amid applause.
“The 21st century is about communication and if there is one area, where our opponents outdo us, it is in communication. They have much more money than us and they are better at communication than we are, so we must think about communication, completely reform our communication systems and communicate with the people of India, with the youngsters in a new way,” he added.
Rahul said communication between states and Indians are key to democracy. He blamed the BJP and RSS for trying to stop the communication process and assured that the Congress’ campaign will focus on communication with the people.
Even as the Congress’ focus drastically shifts towards the youth, both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had a message for the veterans. While Rahul Gandhi quipped that “our senior leaders sometimes go into depression. It’s normal. But the battle is not easy”, Sonia Gandhi announced setting up an advisory group drawn from the working committee that would meet regularly to assist her, and asked in a lighter vein that the Youth Congress , which would organise the rally, to “keep space for old people too” while asking everyone to join the march.
At the end, a smiling Sonia, possibly addressing her last Chintan Shivir as party president, said she felt she spent Saturday evening with her “extended family” of the Congress and declared: “We will overcome. We will overcome.”