By Ashok B Sharma
Second wave of COVID has placed Modi government on the back foot. Public resentment against the government is rising. But he is lucky in absence of a national alternative to take on the government. He faces stiff resistance from the regional parties. But the regional parties are yet to be united. Who is to unite the regional forces. Unlike Jayprakash Narayan or Anna Hazare who had been projected as national heroes, there is no such person in sight. It now rests upon a pan-India party to unite these regional parties in one platform. It is the responsibility of Congress, which has a pan-India presence and single largest Opposition in the Parliament, to do so. But the burning question is – are the regional forces willing to unite under the leadership of the Congress?
Congress itself is a divided house. Rahul Gandhi who had been a star campaigner in last assembly polls is not yet acceptable as an undisputable leader of the Congress party or by the regional parties. Yet there is another way of thinking. The Opposition forces when united could bring VP Singh to power. This alliance was, however, backed by BJP and the CPM to keep Congress out of power. DeveGowda could become prime minister in a post-poll arrangement when regional forces united and was backed by Congress. Can this thing happen in the near future?
As Prime Minister Modi is aware of the resistance he is receiving at state levels, he is playing the role of dividing the Opposition forces. He is particularly aiming at weakening the Congress, He knows a weak Congress can be beneficial for him to remain in power. The interim president of the Congress party, Sonia Gandhi is in no mood to give the mantle of leadership of the party to anyone outside the Nehru-Gandhi family. She deferred the election of the Congress president despite consistent demand made by several Congressmen, on the pretext of COVID situation.
Taking stock of the setback the party has suffered in the recent elections in the four states and one union territory, she had said that the results were “very disappointing….unexpectedly so”. The party failed to dislodge the incumbent governments in Kerala and Assam and drew a complete blank in West Bengal. The alliance of Left, Congress and Indian Secular Front (ISF) of cleric Peerzada Abbas Siddiqui was completely decimated. By contrast the Trinamool Congress swept to victory with 213 seats and BJP climbed to 77 seats from just three in the last assembly polls.
Most humiliating was that the Congress could not dislodge the incumbent LDF government in Kerala despite the best efforts of Rahul Gandhi. Pinarayi Vijayan created a history by coming back to power for the second consecutive term by consolidating Muslim and Christian votes in his favour. His work during Kerala floods and handling of COVID situation also worked in his favour. The Congress party in Kerala suffered from factional in-fighting. . However, the BJP drew blank and lost the sole seat Nemom it won in last polls.
In Assam, the party did marginally better winning 29 of 95 seats it contested, but the alliance of 10 diverse parties called Mahajot including All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) of BadruddinAjmal without any chief ministerial face could not dislodge the BJP government from power, A Congress insider admitted that, Raijor Dal and Asom Jatiya Parishad, had caused a split of the anti-BJP and anti-AGP votes in several seats of Upper Assam, thereby greatly affecting the prospects of the Congress. There was also factional feud within the party,
In Tamil Nadu, the party performed relatively better winning 18 out of 25 seats it contested riding on the crest of winning DMK-led alliance, but it failed to return to power in Puducherry as NR Congress- BJP won 16 of 30 seats in the House. In last year in Bihar assembly election Congress won only 19 out of 70 seats it was allotted as party of RJD-led alliance. The alliance could not come to power due to poor performance of the Congress.
The interim president of the Congress party has appointed a committee headed by Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Ashok Chavan and consisting of former ministers Salman Khurshid, Manish Tiwari, Vincent Pala and Tamil Nadu MP Jothi Mani to investigate the reasons for party’s losses in the recently concluded elections.
Congress as a pan-India party needs to rejig itself so that it can unite all opposition forces under its banner to work as viable alternative to ruling Modi government. First it needs to reform itself by having an elected president and get rid of factionalism. The elected leader has to be acceptable to the regional parties that are opposed to the BJP. Regional parties like TMC in West Bengal, RJD in Bihar, NCP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, DMK in Tamil Nadu, TRS in Telangana and others and the Left combine are opposed to BJP’s aggressive policy. They need to be united as an alternative force. Can Congress take this lead?
To make this happen there need to be some sacrifice by the Nehru-Gandhi family which is controlling the affairs of the party. Congress also needs to be more flexible in recognizing the worth of leaders who have deserted the party and those who have a dissenting voice and are willing to work for the betterment of the party. The party has lost such leaders in the past like Mamata Banerjee and Sharad Pawar. BJP has been clever in accommodating leaders who have deserted Congress like Hemanta Biswa Sharma in Assam, Prema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, N Biren Sigh of Manipur, As a result the Congress lost its foothold in the NorthEast India. N Rangaswamy of Puducherry, Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and Jyotiraditya Scindia are other examples. (IPA Service)
