The party should have expected the blow from Sachin Pilot. The crisis, three months after the Congress lost a charismatic leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and also the hard won state Madhya Pradesh to the BJP, was not unexpected. In fact, insiders say that Pilot was planning to do a Scindia in March itself, but because of the outbreak of the coronavirus he deferred it.
The fact is that the grand old party ends up losing state after state even after winning elections because of the internal power struggle between the old guard and the young Turks, as well as because of the lure of money. The Congress has failed to get support from the other opposition parties in its struggle against the BJP.
No doubt that this status quo approach is not going to help as the party has missed many wakeup calls in the past six years, losing both the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls as well as some Congress-ruled states like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. There is a danger Chhattisgarh too might go the Madhya Pradesh way.
A big party, which ruled most of the states in the past, should learn lessons at least from the ongoing crisis. So what is wrong now? The first is the leadership vacuum at the top. Since August 2019, Sonia Gandhi has been in the saddle and she had weathered many crises earlier. But today, she is unable to assert herself and Rahul Gandhi, though resigned from his presidency, continues to take most of the decisions — be it on appointments, or transfers or policy decisions. There is a difference of opinion on almost every issue between the old guard who are loyal to Sonia, and the young Turks who are in Rahul’s team. This situation is not good for either camp as nothing gets done. Even in the present crisis, it is Rahul’s team members like Randeep Singh Surjewalla who are camping in Jaipur. The Congress knew that Sachin Pilot was working to split the party, but why did it not mollify him? After all Pilot is said to be close to Rahul Gandhi.
Secondly, the Congress leadership should set right its own house. There is factionalism, indiscipline, nepotism and all other ills dogging the party. The workers are confused and fear that the present strategy is having no strategy. The party lacks direction, idealism, strategy and a new narrative. Unless these are rectified, the desertion will continue. One might ask how Sonia managed to arrest the erosion when she entered politics in 1998. She not only provided leadership but also brought the party to power not once but twice in 2004 and 2009. But now after more than a decade things have changed. She brought her son to head the Congress but the mother and son did not concentrate on building up the party.
No doubt the Congress was able to win Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in 2018, but the party was not able to hold on to the states. It has already lost Madhya Pradesh and is in the process of losing Rajasthan – all mainly due to indiscipline and internal power struggle.
The third is Sonia failed to sort out the power struggle between the old guard and the young Turks. In fact, Rahul himself made this point in the May 25, 2019 Congress Working Committee meeting that the senior leaders did not support him in his campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The power struggle is going on in Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra also. If it is not checked, more states, like Chhattisgarh, might follow Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. There is likely to be more erosion with other younger leaders like Milind Deora and Jitin Prasada might do a Scindia.
Fourthly, Rahul Gandhi is expected to come back as party chief and if he fails to understand the aspirations of the younger leaders and apprehensions of the old guard, the party will deteriorate further.
The Congress should also introspect why it is not able to unite the opposition. None of the other parties have spoken in support of the Congress in the present crisis.
There is still hope for the Congress if leadership learns lessons from the crisis. The good thing is that despite the slide the Congress got 11 crores of votes in 2019 polls and it is still alive in some villages. Now is the time to reset the party. (IPA Service)
WITH HORSES BOLTING FROM CONGRESS STABLE, IT’S TIME FOR RESET
RIFT BETWEEN OLD GUARD AND YOUNG TURKS MUST BE BRIDGED SOON
Kalyani Shankar - 2020-07-28 10:21
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s tweet on July 12: “Worried for our party. Will we wake up only after the horses have bolted from our stables?” depicts the mood in the Congress. Indeed this is the question many senior Congress leaders are asking themselves, as they helplessly watch the unfolding drama in Rajasthan. It looks as if Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot might manage to survive the present crisis, but the question of survival remains for the Congress. With such fragile majority, Gehlot will not find it easy to keep the flock together even if he manages to win the trust vote.