Congress has an arduous task before challenging BJP

The Congress- the grand old party of India, has been in the spotlight due to the recently concluded Chintan Shivir in Udaipur and the party leader Rahul Gandhi’s attack against regional parties. Though Rahul was quick to clarify the remarks that have angered the regional forces, he chose London for this. It could better have been done here in India. But who can stop the Gandhi family scion when he wants to speak his mind?

It is said that late Congressman Balasaheb Bharade, who was a follower of the Gandhian principles, had once said Congress was swarmed by people who have escaped from the party loyalties. His statement later proved true and the decline of the party accelerated further. There was a time when Congress did not have any opposition to cross swords with, but its cadre. People have seen Congress leaders opposing their party men. It was due to comparatively weak opposition parties and their inability to come together as a joint force. 

Intra-party rivalries weakened Congress

Then the Congress leaders used their acolytes against each other- a rebellion of sorts during the elections. They were seen helping members of the opposition parties get elected and ensuring the defeat of their party man- just to establish their clout. 

As a result, followers of Congress soon became identified by the individual leaders, rather than the party. The decline of Congress as a party began when leaders became stronger than the party cadre.

Speaking for the state of Maharashtra, the Congress lost its ground due to their own mistakes- the process, which could have happened at least two decades back had it not been for the opposition. Congress satraps in their effort to win prominent leaders from the opposition parties to enhance their political clout helped them indirectly to win the state council or Rajya Sabha. It was paid back by the tacit support of opposition parties.  

Had a strong sense of unity been exhibited by the opposition parties during the 80s, by keeping aside their so-called ideological differences, the present form of the Congress might have appeared twenty years ago.

People clinging to power are supporters of dynasticism

In the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, the lethargy caused by the euphoria of power in Congress still exists. The centers of power at the district or regional level are still controlled by some powerful political families. It is said that a child born today in such families is tomorrow’s legislator or an MP or not less than the chairman of the cooperatives or educational empire set up by them. 

Most of the leaders are in cahoots with their political opponents so as not to jeopardize their power centers. The Congress leadership has rarely or never questioned why it could not expand its base beyond certain constituencies- in a particular district or a region, said to be dominated by its leaders. On the contrary, local powerful leaders have enjoyed a free hand in deciding tickets (mostly for their family members or acolytes) for various elections. 

Today, the Congress party workers owe their allegiance to powerful leaders rather than the party itself. Such workers are mostly the beneficiaries of various contracts or firms engaged in the supply to the government or semi-government bodies. The bottom line is that the Congress leadership does not even ask why the Congress is in bad shape in some districts like Beed, Parbhani, Jalgaon, Osmanabad, and Jalna, or why the party is not growing outside the talukas of big leaders in most of the districts. 

Now, as the party is in such bad shape that it has taken up the issue of dynasty politics- which was hardly a topic of discussion in the past. Whenever questions over dynasty politics were raised, the party offered examples of doctors, lawyers, artists, etc. But to stay in that business, you need skill and expertise. Besides, there is a difference between doing some professional work with your own funds and furthering political ambitions by usurping public offices. 

There were times when Congress leaders, after attaining a certain age, would announce their political retirement leaving it for the party to decide who should succeed them. After announcing such retirement, such as Balasaheb Bharade (Nagar), Yashwantrao Chavan (Karad-Satara), and Keshavrao Sonawane (Latur), who were members of the state cabinet, were never seen in active politics. 

On the contrary, the Congress leadership in recent years has not even asked its leaders whose names cropped in big scams, and cases of corruption to stop working for the party. This has alienated the younger generation and the middle-class voters who abhor corruption in public life. 

In recent years, the party has not been able to induct fresh talent sans any political background. Those who appear as fresh ones are promoted by big-time leaders who want someone from their clan to further their interests. Even the taluka and district units are run by similar ones. 

Congress is responsible for the rise of regional parties

Certain disparaging remarks passed by Rahul Gandhi against the regional forces have created a furor. The very formation of several regional parties is the result of internal divisions within the Congress. Leaders, who could not go along with the party leadership quit the Congress and set up their regional units in respective states.

Today, the Trinamool Congress and the YSR Congress are the parties that have been established by the leaders whose roots were in Congress ideology. In Maharashtra, the Congress gets a chance to share power only by staying in alliance with the NCP, the party founded by Sharad Pawar, a former Congressman.

When a national party like Congress cannot become a viable option in a state, the regional parties grow. In Maharashtra, the Congress once helped Shiv Sena to strengthen its base to diminish the hold of the trade unions, controlled by the Communist Parties over Mumbai. The same Congress was ousted from power by the Sena in 1995 with the help of the BJP. 

In all, Congress has to overcome several hurdles before it can effectively stand up to the BJP. Only after setting its own house in order, Congress may regain the lost support base, to stand in front of the BJP. Till then, Delhi seems far away, at least for now.