Gandhi scion needs to adapt himself; Congress may have to pay a heavy price if party takes Azad’s departure lightly.
NEW DELHI: With many leaders likely to raise their heads in rebellion in the wake of veteran politician Ghulam Nabi Azad’s departure from the Congress, Rahul Gandhi is said to have decided not to stop anyone from quitting the party in future. “Whosoever wants to say goodbye to the party is free to do so” is what the former Congress chief’s decision. This is what the leaders close to the Gandhi scion say. But the question is whether this kind of attitude is correct? Perhaps not, if one goes by the prevailing circumstances.
Undeniably, the Congress is presently struggling for its survival and existence. It is, therefore, easy to measure the loss that the Congress will suffer if even a single leader quits it. And if a seasoned and experienced leader like Ghulam Nabi Azad quits the party, it is bound to negatively impact and harm the organisation considerably. What is more important is that the development has come at a time when the party is struggling to put its house in order both in terms of structure and elections. Former Congress stalwart, Azad had reasons that prompted this action on his part. Needless to say, the party gave him a lot of opportunities. But what is also a fact that Azad always stood by the party during crisis. As a trusted lieutenant, Azad remained steadfast in his support to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. As an old guard of the party, Ghulam Nabi always stood shoulder to shoulder with Rahul Gandhi in Parliament and on the streets as well. Azad’s image at the national level has been incontrovertible.
Azad’s decision to launch a new party to contest elections in Jammu and Kashmir was viewed as a political motive behind his decision to say goodbye to Congress. As a result, over 60 Congress leaders also quit the party, with some more likely to follow them. Observers believe that if this kind of exodus continues, the Congress may be facing shortage of leaders in the state like Jammu and Kashmir in particular and in other states in general. The BJP is already trying to strengthen its political position in Jammu and Kashmir with the sole aim of getting power in this significant state. It is believed that the BJP will perform better than other parties in Jammu whenever election is held. As it will be the first poll after abrogation of the Article 370, Hindu voters will back BJP there in huge numbers. There was some doubt in the BJP camp about its position in Kashmir valley. But Azad’s resignation must have come as a relief to the BJP strategists. After Farooq Abdullah’s National Conference and Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP, it was the Congress which used to have solid mass base in Kashmir valley. But after Azad’s exit, the Congress will be facing a great deal of challenges there. The BJP will benefit from the possible multi-corner contest after the entry of Ghulam Nabi’s party in future. That BJP is able to get power in Jammu and Kashmir looks to be Azad’s objective, no matter what the former Congress leader says. If needed, he can strike an alliance with the BJP in future.
It’s lamentable that senior leaders are unable to have access to Rahul due to coterie of his politically less experienced “advisors”. In fact, the differences between Rahul and old guards started widening after 2017. Most of the leaders did not agree on Rahul Gandhi’s slogan “Chowkidar Chor hai”.
Similarly, most of these veterans did not approve the decision of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to forge an alliance with Akhilesh’s Samajwadi Party in UP. But Rahul’s advisors made him understand the benefit of caste arithmetic due to this alliance.
Similarly, during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi was given an impression by his advisors that caste arithmetic would favour Congress, BJP would not be able to repeat the 2014 performance, and attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi would benefit the party. But all advisors were wrong as the Congress suffered massive defeat. These advisors tried to shift blame on the old guards, saying that the party lost as the veterans did not support Rahul Gandhi’s “Chowkidar Chor Hai” campaign. Rahul Gandhi was not also ready to entertain any complaint against his advisors then. The Gandhi scion did not also allow the CWC meeting to deliberate over reasons for electoral defeat. He used it to turn up heat on the leaders who were raising fingers at his strategists. Azad has mentioned it in his resignation letter prominently.
Who will bell the cat is the right idiom for the Congress, as nobody dares to point out that Rahul Gandhi is taking wrong decisions despite being aware of it. If the CWC had discussed the issues raised by the leaders of G-23 last year, the situation would not have worsened like this. Everything was brushed under the carpet, and the result is for everyone to see. Azad has left the party, with several leaders from northern states like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and southern states likely to take the same step.
Indications are that a party would be floated at the national with the word “Congress” present in its name. This outfit will fight its first poll in Jammu and Kashmir. It will contest in other states as well, and then its main aim will be to defeat Congress in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP wants some outfits like this to come up before 2024 parliamentary elections, which could split the anti-establishment votes. K. Chandrashekar Rao’s party which is to be launched soon, Azad’s outfit, AAP and other regional parties will suit BJP’s plan to defeat Congress by splitting opposition votes. Now Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and their advisors have to decide if they really want to save Congress by returning to the “old practice” of taking all sections of the party together, or they want BJP to make its “Congress-mukt Bharat” dream come true. What is advisable is that Rahul Gandhi should take over the Congress reins from Sonia Gandhi in the first place, and then he should persuade leaders not to leave party.
If a leader quits the party, it sends out a wrong message, whether he or she has a mass base or not. Already, there is dearth of leaders in the Congress. The situation has come to such a pass that the party is struggling for the last six months to find a leader who could be suitable for the post of UP Congress president.