Make or break time for the Congress
egy to keep her options open till the Lok Sabha elections, the fact is, Mayawati has sent out a firm message: the Congress today isn’t a bankable deposit that can guarantee fixed returns.
It is precisely that perception of being a party in terminal decline that the Congress needs to erase in the next two months to offer a realistic nationwide challenge to the Modiled BJP in 2019. In each of the three Bjp-ruled states of MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, there is ample evidence, anecdotal and psephological, of a creeping local anti-incumbency to varying degrees. In Telangana, too, KCR’S decision to go in for a snap poll reflects a measure of anxiety. In Mizoram, the Congress remains the principal national player despite the BJP pushing for a strategic alliance of regional forces. In effect, the Congress for once, actually, has half a chance in each of the five state contestations. And yet, the overwhelming impression is that the Congress could end up squandering the opportunity because of a frayed election machine that appears like a rickety second-hand car when compared with the resourceful BJP Formula One model. The BJP does have the hefty advantage of being financially well-endowed but money power is not always a decisive factor. The Congress must look within too and ask why its deeply factionalised state units have struggled to get their act together.
Most crucially, there is the ultimate KBC question: can Rahul Gandhi deliver a major state to the party as its chief campaigner? In recent months, the Congress leader has shown some spunk in taking the fight into the Modi camp. The rhetoric may have got him the headlines but it hasn’t yet got him voter endorsement. In that sense, November-december 2018 could be make or break for the Congress leadership.
Post-script: At a recent media conclave in Kolkata, a Congress spokesperson insisted that the maha-gathbandhan was a media creation and the party was only pushing for statewise alliances. The Trinamool Congress leader on the panel retorted, “In Bengal, we don’t need any allies.” The BJP representative on the debate just smiled. As turf battles intensify, who will have the last laugh?
Rajdeep Sardesai is a senior journalist and author The views expressed are personal