Going, Gogoi, gone: After Assam, Kerala losses, Cong struggles to stay relevant
NEW DELHI: The silence that hung over the Congress headquarters on Thursday was heavy, the mood sombre -- in sharp contrast to celebrations just two days ago when the party managed to put up a decent show in the Delhi bypolls.
Ousted from power in Assam and Kerala, the consolatory win in Puducherry did little to cheer up party leaders. Hopes of resurgence in West Bengal, after an unprecedented alliance with the Left, too lay in tatters; that it emerged as the principal opposition party in the state is more of a technical detail.
For the grand old party, there are serious reasons to worry.
It has been rejected by voters in six states since May 2014, excluding newly-formed Telangana and Arunachal Pradesh where BJP-supported rebels did it in. The Congress’ reign is now limited to seven states, with Karnataka being the only major state in its kitty.
The other states ruled by it are Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and now Puducherry. In the ruling alliance in Bihar, the Congress is an inconsequential constituent.
The 131-year-old party now faces an uphill task to regain its prime position in Indian politics, with some observers terming it as climbing Mt Everest without oxygen. The first reaction of the Congress on Thursday was to throw a protective ring around party vice president Rahul Gandhi. Rejecting suggestions that Gandhi should accept responsibility for the party’s debacle, spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “Every election has different issues and they should not be seen linked to any individual.”
This was in stark contrast to the Bihar elections last year when Congress leaders jostled to give Rahul credit for the Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance’s victory over the BJP. Congress general secretary CP Joshi had called Rahul the ‘sutradhaar (architect)’ of the victorious alliance. Going by the trend, the opposition party faces difficult prospects in assembly elections in several states due next year. In Punjab and Goa, the Aam Aadmi Party (AP) is eyeing its political space. The Congress was hoping to regain power in Gujarat after a gap of 15 years, but the BJP wresting its stronghold Talala in by-polls does not augur well for it. With forecast in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur, which also go to polls early next year, not looking so favourable, the Congress’ hope for revival might seem ambitious.
“Congressmen have to realise that the political space of their party is shrinking day by day due to organisational weaknesses at different levels,” said Prof CP Bhambri of Jawaharlal Nehru University. “Congressmen have to work very hard to re-establish their party’s pan-India presence especially when the Sangh Parivar is vigorously trying to occupy that space as evident from BJP’s win in Assam,” he said.
From 2014 onwards, the Congress has lost power at the Centre and in six states - Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jammu and Kashmir (where it was in coalition with the National Conference) and now in Assam and Kerala. The BJP sees the successive defeat of its rivals as the public response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s slogan of “Congress-mukt Bharat”.
Surjewala, however, dismissed the suggestion. “Congress is not only a political party but an ideology, a thought, a way of life -- which permeates the soul of the nation. Neither BJP, nor any individual can destroy it,” he said.
Being in this situation is not new to the Congress. Leaders point out a similar turbulent phase in 1998 when the party ruled just four states - Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Mizoram and Nagaland. That was the time when Sonia Gandhi took over its reins. Under her leadership, the party rose to govern 17 states — either alone or in alliance — in 2004.
Congressmen have to realise that the political space of their party is shrinking day by day due to organisational weaknesses at different levels CP BHAMBRI, Professor, JNU