The Indian National Congress celebrated its 132nd foundation day on Wednesday, revealing little evidence of its ability to bounce back to power, thereby sending a clear message to its workers that Rahul Gandhi was, without doubt, the chosen successor to Sonia Gandhi, who was unable to attend the function. In her absence, Rahul unfurled the Congress flag and greeted senior leaders and activists, thus setting to rest all speculation regarding his impending elevation and making it known in no uncertain terms that he was not only the vice president of the grand old party, but effectively its working president as well.
However, what stands out these days in all Congress gatherings is that there appears to be insufficient conviction emanating from its top leaders which can inspire activists to revive its chances. Rahul has been doing his best to take on the Central government and the Bharatiya Janata Party, but it is obvious that he lacks adequate and sincere support from his own colleagues and his attacks on Narendra Modi are casually brushed off by his adversaries.
The present regime has been in office for over two and a half years and there seems to be no reason why it would not complete its full five-year tenure, given that the Opposition parties are divided and the Congress has been unable at the grassroots to establish a connect with the people. One is compelled to draw comparisons with what happened in the aftermath of the Congress rout in North India, following the lifting of Emergency, where both Indira Gandhi and her son, Sanjay Gandhi were defeated in the elections from Rae Bareli and Amethi, respectively.
However, the tenacity and ferocity with which both of them fought back were the principal reasons for the Congress returning to power in less than three years. Other factors that contributed to the collapse of the Janata Party and its government were Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s obstinacy, Charan Singh’s burning ambition and the constant bickering between various constituents, particularly the erstwhile Socialists, who demanded the end of dual membership of Jana Sangh members, whose continued allegiance with the RSS became a bone of contention.
Sensing that she could use the cracks within the Janata Parivar to stage a comeback, Indira Gandhi embarked on an offensive, commencing with her visit to Belchi village in Bihar, touring the area on the back of an elephant during the height of the monsoons in August 1977, to express solidarity with victims of atrocities among Dalits. Her visit touched a chord with the common people, much to the discomfort of the then rulers. Simultaneously, Sanjay Gandhi, along with his Youth Congress associates, the late Lalit Maken and Prem Swarup Nayyar in particular, began an agitation in various parts of the national capital against the misrule of the government.
The rest is history on how the Desai government was dismantled with the help of the late Raj Narain, who had earlier defeated Indira Gandhi in the polls. Morarji Desai gave way to a short-lived Charan Singh government, paving the way for the return of the Congress. During this period, Indira Gandhi constantly tested the waters and was convinced that she could regain power when her nominee Mohsina Kidwai contesting the Lok Sabha byelection for the first time on the “hand” symbol, wrested the Azamgarh seat from the ruling alliance, followed by Indira Gandhi’s own spectacular victory against Veerendra Patil from Chikmaglur.
The prime reason why Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi could bring the party back with a thumping victory in 1980 was that the workers felt continuously inspired by the leadership. Both mother and son were hands on in reading the pulse of the nation and, therefore, made use of the inability of the Janata Party to govern, given that most of its leaders had been in the Opposition and thus were unfamiliar with the nuts and bolts of running the Central government. Another factor that kicked in was there were never any question marks on the credibility of Indira Gandhi, who after the 1971 polls and India’s victory over Pakistan in the war later in the same year had emerged as the foremost leader in the country.
The present Congress leadership does not possess the kind of credibility Indira Gandhi had and is thus unable to change to its own advantage its tainted image in people’s perception. In 2014, the Congress was decimated because it was considered both corrupt and inefficient. Since then no attempt has been made by any of its functionaries to introspect with clarity. The “image perception”, is, on one hand, preventing the party to be accepted as the leader of a loose coalition of Opposition parties and, on the other, has not allowed the common workers to defend the leadership. It is the same lot of sycophants who contributed to the decline of the party who continue to be in the forefront. In plain speak, it is imperative for the Congress high command to realise that if it wants an Opposition unity to happen to face the present dispensation, it would have to relinquish the leadership role by allowing a regional player to become the rallying point. The sooner this happens, the better. Therefore, it is extremely vital for the grand old party to comprehend that its current leadership poses no threat to the BJP. And Sonia is not Indira and Rahul is not Sanjay. The decision is for the Congress to take. Between us.