Electoral losses leave Congress at the crossroads

The reason for the Congress’ electoral failure is the erosion of its base over the years, both at the ideological and at the organisational levels. Ideologically, the Congress argument for secularism and inclusivity got frayed because of the acts of omission and commission of the party and its govts at the Centre and in states. The party’s economic policies did not change its rhetoric and the party ideologues did not fashion a nuanced ideological position that gave preference to market forces.

IN CRISIS: The Congress finds itself in a unique situation where despite successive losses in elections, it is unable to effect a change in the top leadership. PTI

Parsa Venkateshwar Rao Jr

Senior Journalist

MOST Congress commentators — from long-time party reporters to extramural experts — are convinced that India needs a strong Opposition party, and the role can only be played by the Congress, and that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra should step down from their perch and let others take over. The implication is that unless the Gandhis leave their privileged positions, there is no hope for the Congress. And the commentators are demanding that the three abdicate their power in a weakened and near-extinct Congress. It is a comic demand coming from serious folk because there is not much they can do on their own.

The people who can set things right in the Congress are members of the party themselves. And there seems to be none in the party who can move a motion in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) or in the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) demanding the resignation of Sonia Gandhi as working president of the party, and the resignation of Priyanka as general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh. Of course, Rahul Gandhi does not hold any formal position and he can be ignored.

And at the same time, the CWC and AICC must elect a president in place of Sonia Gandhi and the new one must appoint a general secretary in place of Priyanka. And this is the only way that the Congress can get rid of the Gandhis. And who is preventing members of the party from executing this plan? Of course, they need to muster a majority to accomplish this. And it seems that those who are unhappy with the Gandhi leadership do not have enough support in the party. The honourable thing for those unhappy members is to resign from the party and start a new one to fight the good fight against the majoritarian and communal politics of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress critics of the Gandhis must announce loudly and clearly that they want to fight the communalism of the BJP and its other ideological affiliates. And they need to come up with better arguments than what the Gandhis and their aides in the party have to offer on this count.

The reason for the Congress’ electoral failure is the erosion of the party’s base over the years, both at the ideological and at the organisational levels. Ideologically, the Congress argument for secularism and inclusivity got frayed over the years because of the many acts of omission and commission of the party and that of its governments at the Centre and in the states. Secondly, the party’s economic policies from the 1980s did not change its rhetoric. It was intellectual laziness on the part of the party ideologues that they did not fashion a nuanced ideological position that gave preference to market forces.

Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari and Jairam Ramesh did not convince the party to shift its planks as times changed. Sonia Gandhi brought in a measure of moderation and flexibility, following in the footsteps of Rajiv Gandhi, by showing openness to economic reforms, and claiming the credit for turn to markets. However, Sonia Gandhi was ungracious in acknowledging the work done by PV Narasimha Rao because there was no better dyed-in-the-wool Congressman than Rao. Though she did not directly berate Rao, many of the other Congress leaders did. It was cowardly on the part of the Congress to have disowned its own government from 1991 to 1996. And that has only added to their woes.

It should also not be forgotten that the Congress under Sonia Gandhi did come back to power in 2004 and 2009, though leaning on coalition partners. It was inevitable that the party should have lost in 2014. But the extent of the defeat was unjustified. The party should have recovered in 2019. But it seems what has queered the pitch for the party is the unsteady hand and rhetoric of Rahul Gandhi at the helm. There is the criticism that he created his own cabal around himself, and he was not listening to wiser counsel from the party elders. It sure might have been the case. And Rahul Gandhi should have been challenged within the party. But it required that the challengers have enough support inside the party. And the fact is they do not command any kind of support. Of course, it is easy to blame it all on the Gandhis for not allowing leaders to emerge. In politics, no one gives way to another. Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot should have reached out to the others in the party and expanded their base. Instead, Scindia left the party, and Pilot continues to sulk.

The Congress is weak, and the Gandhis have lost their ability to win elections. So, it is for the party to elect a new leader. If Congressmen and Congresswomen are so helpless that they are unable to function without the Gandhis and not one of the other leaders is able to offer a national vision, then the Congress deserves to die and there is no need to shed tears. The Gandhi cronies in the party will certainly obstruct any challenger. But the point is to defeat them in the party. Rebellion in the party has to be widespread for it to succeed.

The dominance of the BJP in two successive parliamentary elections, and the prospect of a third win in 2024, is not as disastrous as it might appear to those diehard BJP critics. The BJP will go the same way as the Congress, and that too, sooner than imagined. No one party, not Congress, not BJP, can monopolise the political space in India. There is much diversity in India and it cannot be straitjacketed, and that too within the narrow-minded framework of Hindutva. This does not ensure the return of the Congress, but it does mean the reassertion of political pluralism in the country. The Congress never had a monopoly over power, nor does the BJP now. The Congress believed that it represented India, and the BJP believes that it is India. The reality is delightfully different.