It is essentially the predilection for this brand of the economy which is behind the Congress’s present misery because the voters have evidently put their trust in Narendra Modi’s pro-market model with its focus on growth. That the Congress is yet to understand this change in the preference of the electorate is evident from Jairam Ramesh’s comment that it is Modi’s aggressive campaign which is responsible for his success.

What the former minister does not seem to understand is that no amount of in-your-face campaigning can sell a product which is unsaleable. Like the Ambassador car, the Congress has reached a stage when it resembles a run-down jalopy which evokes disinterest and even derision among the onlookers for it doesn’t even have the grace and majesty of a vintage car.

Just as the noisy, cumbersome Ambassador could not compete with the sleek, easily manoeuvrable Marutis, Hyundai and Hondas, the Congress has to embrace the new ambience of performance-driven governance if it wants to remain in the field. The earlier expectation that a charismatic dynasty will enable it to cross the electoral Rubicon because the other parties were devoid of leaders with pan-Indian appeal and bold ideas is no longer valid.

It isn’t only that the BJP has found the present-day mantra of success based on the provision of bijli-sadak-pani, the dynasty has lost its vaunted appeal. It no longer has the ability of its earlier members to impress the people with decisiveness, exemplified by Indira Gandhi during the liberation of Bangladesh, or connected with the aspirations of the new generation, as

If the dynasty wasn’t able to gauge the anger building up against it, as Sonia Gandhi has admitted, the reason was that it has come to represent a decrepit feudal family well past its prime, but still surrounded by fawning courtiers who shield them from the seething unrest outside. To recover lost ground, the family has to first ignore the sycophantic suggestions that aggressive campaigning helped Modi, and concentrate instead on identifying factors which enabled him to connect with the people.

To do so, however, will not be easy, for it will entail the junking of the entire agenda which the Congress has been pursuing. Difficult as it is to admit that one has been wrong, it is even more so if the admission means the dumping of all of one’s favourite ideas. Yet, this is exactly what the Congress must prepare to do, for tinkering with its policies will be of little use.

To return to the Ambassador example again, such fiddling will be tantamount to what the writer, Amit Chaudhuri, said about the car – that the manufacturers brought out a new model every year - Mark I, Mark II, etc - which were an exact replica of the previous year’s vehicle. For the Congress, therefore, reinventing the party has to mean making a new beginning and not dressing up old ideas in new clothes.

The party will be making a mistake if, seeing Modi’s right-wing policies, it decides to turn left. Considering that the Congress’s outlook is left-of-centre, as Jairam Ramesh pointed out before the results were out, it is quite possible that this is the line it will adopt. The party will be encouraged to do so by the left-leaning members of the now defunct National Advisory Council, which was headed by Sonia, and also by the mainstream communists.

However, the Congress will do well to remember that the dogma has died an unlamented death in the countries where it was once the main principle of governance, viz. the former Soviet Union and China. In India, the communists have also been losing ground with their share of seats dropping from 24 in 2009 to 12 this year and their voting percentage from 7 to 4.5. In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the Left got a total of 61 seats.

Even if the Leftists still retain considerable influence among the intelligentsia, it is not without significance that one of the towering figures among them, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, said recently that he is looking forward to the emergence of a pro-market secular party in India. Since the BJP does not fall in this category because of its communal orientation, he must have some other party in mind.

Not since the Swatantra party fell apart in the early 1970s has there been any such outfit. Formed at the wrong time since socialism was then still the flavour of the day in India and large parts of the world, this party of “lords, castles and zamindars”, to quote Jawaharlal Nehru’s carping words, had little chance. Now, the times have changed. Perhaps the Congress should pay heed to Sen’s view. (IPA Service)