If one analyses the message of the voters in the 2019 elections, one would obviously easily find out that although the voters didn't reject dynast leaders — as claimed by BJP — but they obviously rejected one dynasty — the powerful Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. Rahul Gandhi lost from his burrow Amethi, the seat which has been nurtured for years by his sister Priyanka Gandhi — who was launched this year by Rahul as Congress party's “Brahmastra” in Uttar Pradesh. Instead, party managed to secure only one seat — Raibareli — which was won by Sonia Gandhi — that too with a reduced margin in comparison to the previous polls despite SP-BSP's support unlike 2014. Plus, Congress party's vote share got reduced by 1% in Uttar Pradesh where the party had expected that Priyanka's entry would boost the party's vote share.
One thing is clear — neither Priyanka's charm, who looks like her grandmother and country's one of the popular prime ministers, Indira Gandhi, nor his brother and Congress president's slogan — “Desh ka chowkidar chor hain” — worked — but I would say completely backfired. The voters even didn't take seriously the party's manifesto promise of Rs 72,000 every year to 20% of the country's population.
The amusing fact is that almost all the Congress leaders didn’t want the party to be free from dynasty — which has been the glue to bind many aspiring leaders in the party. But time has changed. At the present scenario, it is very clear that the nostalgia of India’s traditional family, which controlled the country for decades, is not appealing to the masses of the country. Priyanka Gandhi's failure to galvanise the party in Uttar Pradesh and Rahul Gandhi's campaigns failing to convert into votes apart from his historic loss at his traditional stronghold Amethi lucidly point to the fact that electorates including that of Amethi and Raebareli — where too the victory margin of Sonia Gandhi was reduced — clearly prove the argument. But Congress leaders are not ready to accept this reality. Instead Sonia, Priyanka and other party leaders are persuading Rahul to continue as the president of the party.
This is where Congress is going wrong. Despite drubbings in the polls, it is still refusing to accept the reality. Rather the party is putting the blame on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP for vitiating the poll campaign through his muscular nationalism woven with threads of majoritarian Hindu sentiments. Including Modi's marketing excellent skills too. In an interview last year, Sonia had blamed Modi's outstanding marketing strategy for the 2014 historic poll defeat of the Congress party — refusing to accept the truth that in 2014 the verdict was against the then Congress led UPA government which completely failed to control the high inflation and the large scaled scams which dominated the news headlines enough to quash the hopes of common people. But Sonia didn't even mention about these issues.
Marketing is a strategy in politics used by every party including the Congress. If the Congress lost to Modi's marketing strategy, it is the leaders of the party who are to be blamed who failed to take on opponent's approach. Plus to win elections only marketing is not enough — the brand on which the whole strategy is based has to echo with the electorates. BJP's Modi brand resonated with the electorate in 2014 but Congress' Nehru-Gandhi family brand didn't. Congress and its coterie labelled it as an aberration refusing to accept the truth. It is because of this refusal that Congress again failed miserably — as voters outrightly rejected the Nehru-Gandhi brand and chose BJP's Modi brand by giving a larger mandate — bigger than that of 2014. Strongly indicating that 2014 wasn't an aberration — but an initiation which was completed in 2019 — by shifting India towards a new political identity from Congress hegemony to BJP dominated led by its brand Narendra Modi — the only prime minister after Indira Gandhi who has been extremely victorious in developing his own powerful cult.
Actually, the truth is Congress lost both 2014 and 2019 polls due to its arrogance. Congress despite in opposition for the last five years even failed to increase its vote share. The reason is that the party still lives in the past and thinks that the Congress still represents India. However, the reality is non-identical. Today BJP has replaced the Congress party by becoming almost a pan-Indian party — except Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where the saffron party is yet to make any significant mark. It is to be mentioned that even in the heydays of the Congress party under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Tamil Nadu was the only non-Congress ruled state. Even in Telangana, another southern state BJP made inroads by winning 4 Lok Sabha seats without banking on any ally from the state. So, simply assuming that Modi fooled the electorates through his attractive campaigns which lacked the reality, Congress is literally turning its eyes from the truth. Fact is Modi through his welfare schemes, which includes UPA's schemes too, has been successful to reach out the poor and marginalised sections of the country — an achievement which even surpassed the Congress led UPA era.
The statement of Rahul Gandhi in the meeting of party MPs that India presently is like a British Raj and they have to fight against every institution sounds too disdainful. This statement clearly disparages the decision of the Indian electorates. Rahul has to stop propagating the fanciful idea that Modi through his catchy narratives deceived the electorates — who voted against the Congress. The voters are not foolish. They know their own requirements. They gave a big mandate to Modi because he resonated well with them — which the two siblings Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi failed to do. So, instead of doubting voters conscience and installing fears in the minds of voters that India being endangered, it would be better for the Congress to listen to the heartbeats of the people, who are disenchanted with the old repeated ideas of dynastic family led Congress, if it is really serious to revive the party. Otherwise, the Congress should be prepared for another terrific shock in 2024. (IPA Service)
INDIA
CONGRESS HAS TO TAKE RIGHT LESSONS FROM POLL DEBACLE
BLAMING POLARISATION BY BJP FOR DEFEAT, WON’T DO
Sagarneel Sinha - 2019-06-06 10:22
Even after facing a huge debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, it seems that Congress party is not getting the lessons right. Party president Rahul Gandhi, who was very much sure about PM Narendra Modi's defeat, offered to resign from the post taking responsibility for the fiasco — only to be rejected by the Congress Working Committee. Instead to keep the Gandhi dynasty at the helm of the party, Congress party re-elected Sonia Gandhi, who earlier had taken a backseat to give way to her son — Rahul Gandhi, as the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. According to sources, CWC has authorised Sonia to choose the party's leader at the Lok Sabha.