Both the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son and the AICC General secretary Rahul Gandhi have zeroed in on the lack of organisation as the main reason for the failure of the party in recent Uttar Pradesh polls and Mrs. Gandhi had said there are too many leaders and less workers.
It is 12 years since Mrs. Sonia Gandhi has taken over the reins of the Congress Party and eight years since Rahul Gandhi has joined politics. Credit goes to Sonia Gandhi for keeping the party united. The party has been winning some states and losing some and she has led the party to power in 2004 and 2009 at the centre. But It is time that they check the slide of the party not only in UP but also in other states. While there may be too many leaders as Sonia Gandhi has pointed out there is also lack of powerful local leadership not only in UP but also in other states. Gone are the days of a Kamaraj or B.C. Roy or Morarji Desai holding forth in their states. Since Indira Gandhi’s time this is one of the main accusations against the Congress leadership that it has not bothered to boost the local leaders. Most of them are nominated without any base and function without any dynamism. They get power and position by doing palace politics in Delhi.
After the electoral debacle in the recent Assembly elections, there is a demand for change of leadership in several states. UP is a classic example. After Rita Bahuguna Joshi had resigned owning responsibility for the poll debacle, several local leaders have become aspirants. The party is still thinking of the Brahmin, Thakur and OBC but it has to think of a younger and dynamic leader who could take all sections along. There is urgency for choosing such a leader because 2014 is not very far. A proper PCC should be in place, without which the Congress cannot revive. The same is the case inBihar. After the rout, the Congress leadership has not taken any step to revive the party.
Andhra Pradesh, which was a Congress citadel once, has gone out of the hands of the party because of the mismanagement and wrong strategies. There is a demand to change the chief minister Kiran Reddy who has not been able to show any bold initiative. The PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana and the chief minister do not have cordial relationship. It has worsened after the recent miserable performance of the party in the Assembly by polls. Jagan Mohan Reddy is flexing his muscles. The Congress has to think of a package to please the different sections. With hardly two years to go before the next Assembly polls, there is not much time left. In the neighboring Tamil Nadu, the Congress is still in wilderness after the recent Assembly poll debacle.
In Maharashtra, the Congress and the NCP are not on the same wavelength. NCP is doing better than the Congress. The chief minister is coming in for criticism because of his lack of decisions and his inability to control the various groups. In the neighboring Goa too, after the miserable performance, there is demand for the change of leadership.
The whole country witnessed the drama played out in Uttarakhand when the rebel leader Harish Rawat’s supporters refused to take oath. Ultimately they have fallen in line but stability of the government has come into question. Harish Rawat wants his supporter to be made the PCC president. In Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh too, there are demands for change of leadership.
However, all these do not mean that the Congress will disappear. Even today you can find a Congressman in every village and the party may have declined but the presence is still there. There is no other party, which can compete with its pan national presence. When such is the picture there is urgent need to place men of confidence and dynamism in these states to steer them. When a national level shake up is done, the dissatisfaction may be less because of the large-scale changes.
Secondly, the Congress has to realize that unless leadership emerges from the bottom, the party will have no benefit as those imposed from the centre are only interested in doing things which they think would please the Congress high command. Thirdly, when people who come from outside are given more importance as it was done in UP elections, that disheartens the worker who refuses to work for the party. Fourthly, money and muscle power has to be shunned while building up the party. Fifthly, the hierarchy should be such that some one at the AICC hears the workers’ complaints. Quite often they come to Delhi but unable to meet anyone and go back disheartened. Lastly, at least during the next elections, the workers should be given their due so that they are enthused.
It is not as if the leadership does not know these things. From Rajiv Gandhi in 1985 to Sonia Gandhi now have pointed out these in their presidential speeches in the AICC sessions. After every session the worker goes back enthused by the words of their president, but gets frustrated soon.
The Congress should also realize that the regional forces are raising their heads due to the weakness of the national parties. The recent Assembly elections have proved that if the national parties do not learn lessons and rectify their mistakes, the next government would be of regional forces. To counter this, it is high time that the two national parties set their houses in order. (IPA Service)
MENU 