The Congress appears to be directionless as was evident from the one-day session held in Ahmedabad recently. Its leaders keep on repeating themselves with no marked improvement in its prospects and refuse to learn from their previous mistakes.
Rabindranath Tagore’s famous lines seem most applicable. “The song I came to sing remains unsung because I have spent all the time in stringing and unstringing my instruments.” This is true of the grand old party where in every conclave certain announcements and declarations are made which remain unimplemented afterwards.
The plight of the Congress, which has ruled for over 50 years since Independence, is most pathetic. The high command is oblivious of the ground realities and there is neither any preparation nor strategy that is visible.
The next round of elections is in Bihar where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who despite being supported by the BJP, seems to be in trouble. Instead of holding the AICC session in a poll bound state, those who preside over the fortunes of the Congress decided that it should be in Gujarat. Why?
There seems to be no logic in this decision either and in any case many top leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were conspicuous by their absence and many of those who went there, returned disillusioned since in their perception the leadership lacks both vision and clarity.
In every meeting that takes place, top functionaries talk about revamping the organization but the exercise gets delayed even though every now and then some announcement regarding some insignificant appointment is made on a routine basis. The party structure is top heavy and the AICC has over a hundred secretaries, most of whom do not even recognize each other and majority of them have no connect with the cadres.
In addition, the Working Committee has dysfunctional members who are incapable of giving any fresh inputs for the growth of the party but are there because they are close to the powers that control things. There is no relation with reality, particularly when the party has to face such a formidable adversary, the BJP, which is always better prepared and strategically ahead, thanks to its leadership, Narendra Modi and others.
The truth is that the Congress at this moment does not have the capacity to either take on the BJP or even maintain its cordial relations with its allies. The common line is that the party would be re-organized shortly, the caste census should happen immediately and both Adani and Ambani were looting the people at the instance of the government.
If the party feels so strongly about these matters, why is it not able to come out on the streets and raise issues that are connected to the lives of the common people? This is primarily because it lacks the organization and both the mega and micro management of the tactics that are to be adopted.
Before the cadres start questioning the ability of the current crop of leaders, it needs to be asked whether those who are entrusted with the task of advising the high command are up to the jobs assigned to them. Is the communication department performing to its full capacity and who has chosen spokespersons, who often embarrass the party by their stupidity rather than countering the offensive of the BJP?
Mallikarjun Kharge is the party chief and has the experience and understanding of the current day politics. However, the impression which has gone around, rightly or wrongly is that he has very little say in day-to-day affairs, which are controlled by the Gandhi family. It is true that the Gandhis have a complete hold over the Congress and it is very difficult to practically think of a situation where they can be separated from the leadership role.
The dilemma is that either the Gandhis take absolute control of the situation or they should allow Kharge to function with full independence. Following the split in the Congress in 1969, the Indira Gandhi faction was led not by her but by Babu Jagjivan Ram, one of the shrewdest politicians of that era. And he delivered even though Indira Gandhi remained in the forefront and led the party in the successful elections that followed.
The questions that are often asked within the party but the leadership consciously or deliberately chooses to ignore are as follows: Should Kharge appoint someone as his political secretary instead of allowing K.C. Venugopal to be the principal functionary who has the eyes and ears of Rahul Gandhi, to have the final say in every matter? Should younger leaders, who have grown within the party, get more importance instead of being sidelined? Why are leaders such as Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor being denied their due? Should the party be guided by those with left leanings instead of being led by its core ideology?
The Congress should also ask itself that why following the mammoth victory of 1984, the party has failed to secure a majority on its own even though it has been in power multiple times after that. It has no road map of how to move ahead, and those who have been entrusted with the job do not seem to be aware either of the topography or the turf.
It is obvious that the Congress is waiting for a miracle to happen. The miracle is that people