A sinking man doesn’t have many options; even a straw creates a ray of hope for him. That the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has finally decided to hold a brainstorming session (Chintan Shivir) to seriously discuss the causes of the decline is like catching the straw. This decision should have come right after the 2019 parliamentary elections when Congress was routed for the second consecutive time, restricted to a shamefultally of 52 seats, marginally better than 44 won in 2014. That was big enough a shock to trigger panic and immediate remedial measures. But the leadership slipped into a self-destructive mode; while Rahul Gandhi resigned as party president, internal rifts ensured the revival efforts were derailed completely.Instead of boldly taking up the challenge to restructure the organization and move with a unity of purpose, a stop-gap arrangement was preferred with a reluctant and enervated Sonia Gandhi at the helm, in addition to cosmetic changes in the organization. The result was obvious:the party hurtled towards disaster, losing one election after another. It was no more a case of normal electoral defeat; it created an existential crisis that accorded substance to the “Congress-mukt Bharat” slogan coined by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Countless wake-up calls fell on deaf ears. Losses in Delhi, Bihar, Bengal, Haryana, Assam, Kerala, nothing could spur the somnolent leadership into action. Rahul Gandhi inexplicably ran the show from behind instead of leading from the front. While this deepened the sense of helplessness and confusion among the party workers, even senior leaders felt disillusioned and started raising questions about the leadership crisis. The disarray in the organization was doomed to reach a frightening level sooner or later and the pathetic performance in the latest round of election rang the alarm bells again.The party not only failed to exploit the strong anti-incumbency against BJP in Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Goa, it lost Punjab to Aam Aadmi Party, a loss that will haunt it for a long time to come. The party’s lack of appeal among the masses was reflected in the results of Uttar Pradesh where it notched up merely 2.3% votes despite Priyanka Gandhi’s sustained struggle. While the organisational elections are scheduled to elect a new president in August, the leadership has done well to announce a brainstorming session in April to formulate the future course of action. Such sessions – in Panchmarhi, Shimla, Jaipur – have helped the party in the past. The next big battle is in Gujarat and any substantive gain from the constructive exercise may inject a fresh lease of life into the decaying organization.
Rahul Gandhi has inflicted severe damages on the party by his inexplicable reluctance to lead from the front. What ever be the reason, the outcome of his immaturity and confusion was devastating for the entire opposition. There cannot be any legitimate reason to control the party from behind. It is yet not clear whether he is ready to assume the responsibility of Party Chief but the completion of organisational elections will bring clarity on thatfront as well. No party can survive without a functional, hands-on full-time president. The challenges are enormous; Congress never faced such a crisis inits turbulent history, with the rampaging force led by Narendra Modi determinedto obliterate its existence. Congress willbe aiding that project by wasting even a day in internal squabbles and procrastination. Rahul Gandhi should understand this is not the time for experiments and the greatest priority is to harness every resource, every avenue, to optimize the party’s strength. Nothing would be more insidious to the rejuvenation process than factionalfeuds and generational conflict. The responsibility lies more with Sonia Gandhi who resurrected the Congress in 2004 by marshalling the available resources with remarkable maturity. She has the experience and pragmatism to bridge the gap between generations, between dissidents and loyalists. If she fails to counsel the younger leaders and persuade the veterans to forge unity at this critical juncture, the path to recovery won’t be easy. Congress has faced several splits in the past. Though there are no possibilities of another split atthis stage, discontent and factionalism may have similar debilitating impacts on the party. If good sense doesn’t prevail upon the Congress, the consequences will bemuch wider for Indianpolity as there isno other party with a pan-India presence. Electoral defeats and victories, after all, are an integral part of democracy. But strong opposition is equally integral to democracy.
