The post of the leader of opposition fell vacant owing to the death of gritty tribal leader Ms. Jamuna Devi on September 23 last year. Ms. Jamuna Devi was the leader of opposition since 1993, when the Congress lost power to the BJP. After her death, the deputy leader of opposition Rakesh Singh Chaudhary was performing the duties of the leader of opposition and his performance was quite up to the mark. Nevertheless, the Congress became a subject of ridicule and a laughing stock for facing four ordinary sessions and two budget sessions of the Assembly without a formal leader. .

Ajay Singh, popularly called “Rahul” in political circles, has now been appointed the leader of opposition. He is the son of veteran Congressman late Arjun Singh. He is a senior legislator, having annexed his family’s traditional seat, Churhat in Sidhi district, four times. He also served as a minister in the ministry headed by Digvijay Singh. Incidentally, Ajay Singh happens to be a close relative of Digvijay Singh. There is no denying the fact that he owes his elevation to the powerful Congress General Secretary. Ajay Singh is a soft-spoken person, courteous to a fault. And that has generated some doubt as to whether he would be able to emerge as an effective opposition leader--a position that requires some degree of assertiveness and aggressiveness. His father held the same position in 1977, after the Congress’ rout in the elections. Arjun Singh, by his dynamic performance, rejuvenated the party in the state and emerged as the potential Chief Minister. Whether Ajay Singh would be able to repeat his father’s performance will become clear in end-2013, when the state goes to the polls.

Besides filling up the post of the leader of opposition, Ms. Sonia Gandhi has also appointed Kantilal Bhuria, Minister of state for tribal affairs in the Union Cabinet, as the new Congress President. The post of the Congress chief was lying vacant since the expiry of the term of Suresh Pachauri. His performance as the state party president was inadequate to improve the fortunes of the party. The party lost the 2008 assembly elections under his leadership. It is said that Pachauri and poll victories are incompatible with one-another. He himself has never won any direct election. His entire political career was spent in the Rajya Sabha. Pachauri is a past master in palace politics. By developing close relations with some powerful Central leaders he managed to secure five consecutive nominations to the Upper House and was also named Union minister of state twice. It is claimed that he was quite close to late Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, whose political career culminated in being elected the President of India. Pachauri also managed to secure entry into the inner circles of Narasimha Rao and later Sonia Gandhi. But now he may have to spend some time in political wilderness, till he manages to catch hold of another mentor.

Under his stewardship, the Congress not only lost the 2008 assembly elections but also a string of bye-elections. Pachauri failed to launch any public agitation against the BJP government. During his tenure, several issues emerged that could have been used to corner the government. However, Pachauri could exploit none of them. His followers, however, allege that Pachauri was not allowed to function by the Congress satraps, including Digvijay Singh. They said that Digvijay Singh’s anti-Brahmin mindset was responsible for him working overtime to ensure that Pachauri turned out to be an ineffective leader.

After the expiry of Pachauri’s term, the Congress went into hibernation. Because of the pressures and counter-pressures of various lobbies, Ms. Sonia Gandhi could not name his successor for a long period. After a prolonged exercise, Kantilal Bhuria emerged as the near-unanimous choice. It is believed that here also, Digvijay Singh played a crucial role. Most of the political observers feel that with the two appointments, Digvijay Singh is back with a bang in the state politics as a kingmaker.

The biggest challenge the two leaders now face is to infuse new life into the Congress. It is felt that Bhuria, who has been MLA and MP and minister, both in the state and at Delhi, may be able to perform that task. That he enjoys the backing of all important leaders was evident by the fact that all of them—including Kamalnath, Digvijay Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Arun Yadav—joined the Congress rally in Bhopal on April 15, 2011, when Bhuria formally took charge. The first task before Bhuria is to activate the district and the party units lower down. The terms of the district unit chiefs have also expired long back and new office bearers have to be appointed. The state executive committee has also to be constituted. He also has the task of exposing the acts of omission and commission of the BJP government. The Congress has lost the capacity to organise agitations, which are necessary to revive its ties with the masses.

In 1980, when the Congress wrested power from the BJP, a tribal leader Shivbhanu Singh Solanki was the state Congress chief and Arjun Singh was the leader of opposition. Almost 30 years later, another tribal leader is heading the Congress and Arjun Singh’s son is the leader of opposition. Whether 2013 will be a repeat of 1980, is anybody’s guess.

One thing however, is certain. The ruling BJP is rattled by the two appointments at the possibility of the Congress emerging out of its slumber. And this is being reflected in the bitter, bordering on insulting, statements about Bhuria being made, among others, by the state BJP chief Prabhat Jha. (IPA)