Band-aids will not help the Congress
The party needs a fresh narrative rather than simply expect Narendra Modi to selfdestruct
As the seasons change, there is a spring in the step of the Congress which suggests that along and harsh summer in the political wilderness maybe ending. Rahul Gandhi is finally set to take over the party leadership, there is a buzz around the Congress’ aggressive social media strategy, new anti-BJP alliances are being cemented in poll-bound Gujarat, demo net is ati on and G ST have become useful weapons to attack the government and open rebellion by senior BJP leaders like Yashwant Sinha has given further ammunition to the Opposition. But the truth is, while the Congress maybe scenting a comeback, in reality it is still a case of ‘Dilli dur ast’.
Let’s start with Rahul Gandhi’s much-delayed ‘coronation’ as Congress president. It’s now almost five years since he was made party vice president and warned that “power is poison ”. That speech in Jaipur only seemed to confirm a widespread belief that Rahul was a reluctant politician. When after the party’s debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he re treated into the background, even refusing to take up the challenge of Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, it only further type cast him as a cocooned, risk averse dynast.
Now, the manner of his impending “elec- ti on” as Congress president has also been less than ideal. Rather than going through the farcical exercise of getting state Congress units to blind ly endorse his name, the party should have thrown up a potential challenger. Son ia Gandhi’s mettle was tested, first when the likes of Sh ar ad Pa war questioned her over foreign origins, and then, when J it end ra Pr as ada took her on in the party president polls. She earned the respect of the cadre because she showed a willingness to fight all her critics.
By contrast, a red carpet welcome has been laid out for Rahul with no one willing to take him on. Rahulwouldh ave still almost certainly won but a hard fought win would have earned him the respect that many Congress leaders in private are reluctant to give him and also enthuse the cadre. Instead, the soft landing offered to Rahul only reaffirms the sycophantic anti-democratic culture of the party of the freedom movement, one which is now ‘umbilically’ tied to a single family.
A competitive election for all posts in the party, including the Congress Working Committee, would help strengthen the organisation which has been enfeebled by the ubiquitous high command culture of‘ nomination ’. Here, Rahul cannot be entirely blamed. This is a legacy of the redoubtable Indira Gandhi, who down sized regional Congress leaders and made the party apparatus subservient to her own larger than life image. Rahul has often spoken about organisation al restructuring as his prime goal, but the fact is, he has been unable to open up the party to new talents, leaving the same discredited coteries in charge.
When a patient is in an ICU and facing lingering death, band-aid will not do. The Congress needs a major surgery, one which must begin with overhauling its local units at the block and taluka level. It needs to find a fresh narrative rather than simply wait it out and expect Narendra Modi to self-destruct. It is faint ly amusing to find the Congress celebrate Sinha’s diatribe against the government’s economic policies, almost as if an ageing soldier of the BJP can single-handedly stop the Mo di juggernaut. Where is the Congress’ own recipe for revival that goes beyond catchy tweets and slogans? Yes, social media is an important element of the media machine, but elections are not won only by adding followers or increased likes and retweets on Twitter.
Which is why Rahul’ s first task as Congress president should be to energise the party by giving it a hands on leadership that reconnects with a ‘new’ India where voters are impatient and aspirational. There must be a relentless desire to shape the agenda, communicate a vision, reach out to new constituencies, and, most importantly, always be battleready. It cannot be, as appears tobe the case in Gujarat, that the party wake sup just months ahead of a big election and expects instant results. Politics in the age of Modi is a 24X7 ruthless exercise where only the fittest will survive. Is Rahul really up for the challenge?
Postscript: At a book function a few months ago, former finance minister PC hi dam bar am was asked why Rahulwasn’ t able to sum mon up the fighting spirit of an Ind ira after she was ousted from power in 1977? Pat came the reply: “Don’ t forget Ind ira had to face Morarji Des ai and the old socialists, we are confronted with Modi and the formidable RSS election machine!”