The future of Congress, the grand old party? There is considerable ferment in the field relating to the future of the grand old party. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who coined “Congress Mukt Bharat” and the BJP are rejoicing each time the Congress receives electoral drubbing with grin and a sense of “I told you so.” On the face of it, the good news for the Congress is that it cannot get worse. In the recently concluded assembly polls of Maharashtra, the Congress lost its deposit in Mumbai’s Malabar Hills assembly segment where at Gowalia Tank, 72 persons had gathered way back on December 28, 1885 to form the Indian National Congress. 24, Akbar Road that houses Congress headquarters in New Delhi is witnessing loads of disquiet. In the absence of regular Congress Working Committee meetings, senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh and P. Chidambaram are choosing to communicate through media. The Congress organisational polls are due next year and a process has to start now. There is a thinking that Rahul should “contest” party chief’s elections and get himself “democratically elected” just as Sonia had defeated Jitendra Prasada in 1999 and Sitaram Kesri had humbled both Sharad Pawar and Rajesh Pilot in 1997. Going by Chidambaram and Digvijaya’s remarks, it becomes clear that Sonia is seriously considering her retirement from active politics. She would be starting 70 year of her life from December 9, 2015 and she is reportedly keen to set an example of retiring from public life. In Such a scenario, Congress leaders have three choices – 1. opting for non Gandhi family member as their leader, 2. choosing Rahul or 3. requesting Priyanka Gandhi to take reins of tottering party. The option of non- Gandhi family member as head of Congress is non-existent. There is no worthy Congressman at either national or regional level who can command respect of partymen or match charisma of either Gandhis or Narendra Modi. Its a scenario that will come into being if Gandhis collectively move out of active politics. The second option of Rahul taking over Congress is fraught with dangers. He does not inspire average Congressman. Moreover, the old guard and middle rung of Congress is wary of his leadership style which is a curious mix of detachment and “impractical” ideas. Question that bothering Congress persons at all levels are how much Rahul willing to change and meet their expectations. Priyanka has wider acceptance but seasoned Congressmen rule her out on three counts. First, current Modi wave is such that it may last for another few years making Priyanka charm and charisma ineffective. Secondly, transition from Rahul Congress to Priyanka would be easier said than done. Thirdly, Robert Vadra issue is such that it has a potential of diluting everything good that Priyanka can hope to achieve. In such a grim scenario, its primarily Rahul Gandhi’s burden to introspect and reinvent himself. If he is indeed serious to respond expectations of 10 crore voters who sided with the Congress in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul needs to be more visible and interactive at party forums, parliament, media, social media etc. He has to cut down his active social life, travelling abroad and bouts of silence. If and only if Rahul can inspire millions of Congress workers, across the country, the seemingly dead corpse called Congress will bounce back alive and kicking.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 11:57:37 +0000
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