Victory in Lok Sabha elections a challenge for fragmented Cong

Pratibha Chauhan 

A divided Congress in Himachal is yet to put its house in order even a year after the Assembly poll debacle amid uncertainty and speculation about a possible change in the State Congress President.

Even though Rajni Patil,  AICC in-charge in state, has tried to placate Virbhadra Singh, the picture is far from rosy for the Congress, which faces an uphill task of wresting the Lok Sabha seats from BJP, which had won all four segments in the 2014 parliamentary polls.

While the party high command has been lingering the decision to change state Congress President Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, there is an air of uncertainly about Sukhu’s continuation, which does not augur well at a time, when parliamentary polls are less than a year away. 

Various names including those of Dalhousie MLA Asha Kumari (six-time MLA) and Harshwardhan Chauhan (five-time MLA) are doing the rounds, but this is mere speculation. A third name of Kuldeep Rathore has been added to the list, much to the surprise of all considering his lack of electoral experience.

While six-time Chief Minister and tallest Congress leader in the state, Virbhadra is unwilling to let go and pass on the baton to the younger leadership, there is a virtual power struggle among middle rung leadership to get the position of prominence.

Patil, who was handed over the reins of the party earlier this year, is trying to set the house in order. She toured all four Lok Sabha segments, immediately after assuming charge. Sensing that the party faces an uphill task of wining back the lost Lok Sabha seats, she is making an earnest effort to take everyone along. As compared to her predecessor, Sushil Kumar Shinde, who was AICC General Secretary and in-charge of Himachal, she is far more active and in regular touch with the leaders and party workers, getting feedback. Owing to age and health issues, Shinde had been relatively inactive, which did affect the morale of the party cadres.

The immediate task at hand for Patil is candidate selection for the Lok Sabha polls. While many of the senior leaders who had faced setback by losing the Assembly polls are contenders for the Lok Sabha polls, Patil will have to strike regional and caste balance to field the most suitable candidates. 

Congress’ hope of victory in the parliamentary polls will largely depend on whether the party can put up a united show and the senior leaders can sink their differences to work in unison.

Those in the fray include former ministers GS Bali and Sudhir Sharma from Kangra and Kaul Singh Thakur from Mandi. These leaders are desperately looking for their resurgence and the Lok Sabha election seems the obvious choice. Getting a consensus candidate, who would be acceptable to all including former CM Virbhadra Singh is yet another task for the party.

Another major handicap that the Congress is likely to face in the polls is paucity of funds, in sharp contrast to the BJP, which is flushed with resources, both financial and manpower. Now, it remains to be seen to what extent the Congress can surmount these constraints and capitalise on the resentment prevailing among the public on the issue of price rise and unfulfilled promises.

Not a rosy picture for party 

• The Congress party faces an uphill task of wresting the Lok Sabha seats from BJP, which had won all four segments in the 2014 parliamentary polls.
• While the party high command has been lingering the decision to change the State Congress President Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, there is an air of uncertainly about Sukhu's continuation, which does not augur well at a time, when parliamentary polls are less than a year away. 
• With six-time CM and tallest Congress leader in the state, Virbhadra Singh unwilling to let go and pass on the baton to the younger leadership, there is a virtual power struggle among middle rung leadership to get the position of prominence
• Congress' hope of victory in the parliamentary polls will largely depend on whether the party can put up a united show and the senior leaders can sink their differences to work in unison.
• Another major handicap that the Congress is likely to face in the polls is paucity of funds, in sharp contrast to the BJP, which is flushed with resources, both financial and manpower. Now, it remains to be seen to what extent the Congress can surmount these constraints and capitalise on the resentment prevailing among the public on the issue of price rise and unfulfilled promises.