Editorial: Cong has tough task ahead

Editorial: Cong has tough task ahead

FPJ EditorialUpdated: Monday, January 30, 2023, 11:48 PM IST
article-image
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi | ANI

The 135-day Bharat Jodo Yatra ended in Srinagar on Monday, busting certain suppositions about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s staying power, the yatra’s impact or lack of it on national politics and whether its message of peace and love would resonate with the people. After nearly five months on the road, traversing about 3800 km, the Congress party’s Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra covered 12 states and two Union territories. In South India the response was unprecedented but there were enthusiastic crowds in North Indian states too. Rahul Gandhi’s T-shirt-wearing avatar at the height of North India’s severe winter struck a chord, especially as his sartorial oddity was explained as a sympathetic response to the homeless shivering in the cold because of lack of woollens. To a large extent the Congress leader shed his ‘Pappu’ image walking several kilometres daily and rarely taking a break from the rigours of the yatra. Images of men, women and children hugging and interacting animatedly with Mr Gandhi did much to dispel the assumption that he is a privileged politician out of sync with the common people’s problems. However, optimism that the yatra will translate into electoral gains for the Congress must be tempered, as the correlation between the two is tenuous. The yatra had the novelty factor, but electoral arithmetic is a different cup of tea.

Any hope of taking on the Narendra Modi-led BJP juggernaut in this year’s Assembly elections or the big test in 2024 must be accompanied by elaborate planning and strategising which the Congress appears ill-equipped to deal with. The party has to defend Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, while attempting to wrest Karnataka from the BJP, which is no easy task. The infighting and factionalism that marks the party’s state units has to be nipped in the bud. The free speech argument that is touted every time someone speaks against the party is no longer tenable. Along with getting its act together, the Congress has to make a substantial push for Opposition unity. At the conclusion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, 21 parties were invited to attend an event in Srinagar but only 12 confirmed their attendance. The Congress as the largest Opposition unit must engage with other parties in a spirit of give and take. The yatra is only the first step in a long road to redemption for India’s oldest party. It has a long way to go to again emerge as a force to reckon with.

Capital collision

The ugly scenes that have stalled the mayoral election in Delhi twice are a clear indicator as to how the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will be run over the next five years now that the Aam Aadmi Party has succeeded in breaking the BJP’s stranglehold on the civic body after 15 years. The issue has now reached the court. The MCD, which had been trifurcated during Sheila Dikshit’s rule in Delhi, was unified as a single unit just months ahead of the elections to the civic body in which AAP won 130 of the 250 seats, the BJP 104 and the Congress 16. The BJP had initially decided not to contest the mayoral polls but later did a U-turn. The decision to swear in ten nominated aldermen by the presiding officer Satya Sharma appointed by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena overruling the AAP’s recommendation of Mukesh Goyal was the reason for the flashpoint that led to utter chaos breaking out, with the AAP and BJP accusing each other of hooliganism.

This blame game has become part and parcel of the governance of Delhi. The friction between the elected Government and the Centre’s representative in the form of the LG has only intensified since Arvind Kejriwal’s party came to power. Meanwhile, it is the citizens who suffer as key issues such as garbage disposal, measures to combat pollution, water scarcity and bad roads are left unattended. These are issues that need sane heads and rational discourse. Political parties must set aside their differences and get down to the task of governance.

RECENT STORIES

Decentralisation Can Build Better Cities

Decentralisation Can Build Better Cities

Analysis: Elections Are The True Test Of Democracy

Analysis: Elections Are The True Test Of Democracy

Analysis: Crucial Questions About Navayuga And The EBs

Analysis: Crucial Questions About Navayuga And The EBs

Editorial: Too Few LS Tickets For Women

Editorial: Too Few LS Tickets For Women

From Mandir To Mandi

From Mandir To Mandi