Maharashtra developments, Udaipur incident add to Congress’ woes and worries.
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as Congress president is likely to be deferred. Sources say that the polls for the top party post may be delayed again for a few more months. Last year, the party’s presidential polls were deferred due to the pandemic for one year, and a new schedule for the election was fixed. According to the new programme, the new party president has to be elected sometime between 21 August and 30 September. But now, the poll may be held by the end of this year.
One of the reasons for the delay is Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the ED. The other reason is the Udaipur incident that dented the image of the Congress-ruled Rajasthan. Thirdly, the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra has also triggered the postponement. The Congress is worried over all these developments, with the leadership indecisive about the next course of action. What is giving Congress anxious moments is that the Hindutva agenda has gained momentum. Still, Congress is not apparently willing to change its attitude.
Congress alleges that the situation in the country is worrisome due to politics over religious issues. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi continues to blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the “deteriorating” situation in the country.
In fact, Congress is still under the impression that the prevailing situation will damage the BJP’s poll prospects, and that the party which targets PM Modi will derive electoral advantage. What is being discussed in the Congress is whether this strategy is correct or not. After the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle, senior Congress leader A.K. Antony in his fact-finding report pinned blame for the defeat on the politics of Muslim appeasement by the party. The party with Rahul Gandhi at the helm did not heed the report and as a result it suffered another electoral setback in 2019. Rahul Gandhi was on the offensive against Modi raking up various issues, but the BJP staged a massive comeback, and the Hindutva issue helped it a lot. Rahul Gandhi did quit the top party post, but he continued to be behind all decisions. When voices of dissent against his strategy cropped up, the CWC announced an election programme. The dissent fell silent. After the Congress’ defeat in five states, the dissenters raised questions again, following which the Sankalp Shivir was organized and Rahul Gandhi was accepted as the leader of the party. It was decided that he will be elevated as Congress boss. After this, some of the disgruntled leaders were given Rajya Sabha berths. However, what followed all this added to problems of the Congress. The grand old party faced defeat in Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana.
Soon thereafter, ED started questioning Rahul Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi fell sick and got hospitalized. Congress staged protest rallies in Delhi against Rahul Gandhi’s questioning. The party’s demonstration was also questioned by many. It was said that the Congress is doing what works to BJP’s advantage. The BJP has already made “dynastic politics” a big issue, which benefited it in the five state polls as well. Congress’ protest was dubbed as a glaring example of “family politics”. This was followed by the BJP’s “secret operation” leading to toppling of the MVA government in Maharashtra. Even political pundits could not figure out what was happening and what trick PM Modi played. Some say that it was a strategy to cut Shiv Sena down to size, which believes in “family politics”. If this is the case, it is bad news for Congress from Maharashtra. The BJP managed to add Hindutva overtones to the development leading to formation of the new government in Maharashtra under Eknath Shinde. What happened next was the beheading incident in Udaipur following which the Hindutva issue came on the political centrestage. With all this in the background, Congress is likely to postpone the coronation of Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi is also not ready to shoulder the responsibility. What is certain is that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will not become the party chief. Only Rahul Gandhi will be elevated, otherwise the existing system will remain functional. Sonia Gandhi will be less active after sickness. However, all other electoral processes will be completed in August.