This was evident during the Anna Hazare agitation, the Ramdev movement, facing Kejriwal, or during the recent gang rape flash protests at Raisina Hills. The ruling party should introspect why people are taking to streets on sensitive issues. While facing turbulent movements the Congress leaders had been reticent and reluctant to face the issues.

If the Congress wants to come back to power, the first thing it should do is to ensure that its leaders are accessible to the public, as well as the Congress workers, and also sensitive to the issues raised by the public. Although the ministers are supposed to visit the party headquarters when they visit any state this is hardly followed. Even the members of Parliament complain that the ministers do not bother to reply to their letters let alone meet them.

The Chintan Shivir — the brainstorming session at Jaipur — this weekend is a good thing, as every party should introspect about the past as well as the future and attempt course correction. The Congress had attempted to engage in such introspection, particularly after Sonia Gandhi took over as President. There was the Pachmarhi session in 1998, a few months after she took over, and the Shimla conclave in 2003, which enabled the party to go for a coalition experiment. The credit should go to Sonia Gandhi for bringing the Congress back to power in 2004 and 2009. Can the Congress do a hat trick in 2014?

Will the Jaipur meeting come up with something new? Will the party and the government go hand in hand in tackling issues? This is the first such brainstorming session where the Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi will take the centre stage. The meeting is to project Rahul as the party’s future and a signal of the generational change as more than half the invitees are below 45 and could be termed as the Rahul’s team for the 2014. The failure or success of Jaipur Chintan Shivir depends largely on Rahul Gandhi whose 'larger role' in Congress is often talked about. Rahul has already been made in-charge of party's all-powerful Election Coordination Committee, which has a key contribution at the conclave.

The introspection is required at a time when the Congress is struggling to gain back its lead role. The party lost power in Gujarat in 1995, in Uttar Pradesh in 1989, in Bihar in 1990, and in Tripura in 1993. It has been out of power in West Bengal for more than three decades barring the brief stint as the Trinamool Congress' ally. In Tamil Nadu, the party has not come to power on its own for well over four decades. Elections are scheduled to at least nine state assemblies where the stakes are high for the Congress. The Congress should also worry about the diminishing role of national parties and the rise of regional satraps.

The Congress has identified five broad subjects including future political challenges, emerging socio economic scenario, international situation, women empowerment and organizational strengths for discussion. Youth and women are the two large sections the Congress is targeting at the Chintan Shivir. That is why the women empowerment and larger youth representation are given at the Chintan Shivir. The recent Delhi gang rape incident has accentuated the need and the focus would be on the criminal justice reforms.

Tackling political challenges is very important for the survival of the party. This includes communalism and unity in diversity, the two old planks of the Congress.

Apart from holding on to the present allies finding new ones is also a big task. Linked to that is how to expand the party’s base and attract the youth. The meeting would also discuss how to show case the two new initiatives — cash transfer system and food security. Both need to be propagated to the public before the next elections. As the Congress has come to terms with the need for economic reforms the next challenge is how to cut the huge subsidy, which is running into thousands of crores. On the foreign policy segment, the recent violations of the Indo-Pak Line of Control would figure and the party would assert to go with the public mood.

Organisational strength is what the Congress should worry about, as the party has not been able to build at the gross root level. The party high command is aware of this drawback but had done nothing to improve the situation at the ground level. Several state units have no heads and no PCCs. There has been talk about major organizational changes but nothing has been announced so far.

The Chintan Shivir is being held at a time when the party and the government are facing so much pubic anger against the lack of governance. Rahul should not miss this opportunity of showing his leadership and what tricks he has up his sleeve to bring the party back to power. It is imperative for the Congress to decide its direction with hardly 18 months to go for the next general elections. How effectively this will be communicated is what will decide the future of the Congress party and to a large extent future of the Gandhi dynasty. (IPA Service)