On the sidelines of an event here, Meira Kumar, former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, spoke to The Sunday Guardian about Congress’ poor performance in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Manipur, and how the party should revive itself. Excerpts:
Q. The Indian National Congress (INC) lost in four out of the five states that went to the polls in the first quarter of 2017. What do you think the Congress needs to do to revive itself?
A. First, you have to understand that the Congress exists because of its ideology. Irrespective of whether the Congress wins or loses, that ideology will continue to exist. Therefore, the Congress will continue to exist as well. Also, change of power is part of a healthy democracy. We were in power for 10 years and the people thought they should try a different political party and thus the BJP was elected in 2014. About the recent elections, I think the defeat seems to be very big in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. But a close analysis of the figures will show you that Congress has not done so badly in Goa and Manipur, but we could not form government. It registered a clear win in Punjab. So the statistics lead us to look through the perception prejudice that surrounds Congress.
Q. But in places where the Congress did fairly well, Rahul Gandhi was not the face of Congress campaigns there and in Uttar Pradesh, where he was leading, the Congress finished only in single digit. Therefore, a constant question arises about Rahul Gandhi’s efficiency as vice-president of the INC, more so following the party’s defeat in the recent elections. Your comments.
A. Yes, Rahul Gandhi campaigned extensively in Uttar Pradesh for the elections, and we did see massive crowds in his rallies there, but unfortunately those crowds could not translate into votes for the party. Rahul Gandhi is a young leader who is still learning through his experiences and I am sure he will do well. However, we are still analysing and introspecting as to what went wrong for us and why the crowds did not translate into votes.
Q. It was also expected that Priyanka Vadra will play a greater role in the election campaigning, but people did not get to see her enough.
A. Yes, Priyanka Vadra has a lot of charisma, she speaks well and she is a popular leader. She will be an asset for the party in future. However, she did play an important role during this election as well, and also addressed a few rallies.
Q. Is it time for Rahul Gandhi to get promoted to the position of president?
A. I cannot take these decisions. This is the decision which the party needs to take. He is already representing the party.
Q. Mayawati has questioned the transparency of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the Uttar Pradesh elections. Do you think ballot papers should be brought back?
A. I think that would be regressive. EVMs were introduced to improve the transparency in the counting of votes. To go back to ballot papers will be taking a step back instead of moving ahead with advanced technological upgrades.
Q. A petition on social media was circulated demanding that Shashi Tharoor be made Congress’ prime ministerial candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Can that become a possibility?
A. I have not heard about any such petition.