Congress: Aversion To Reform Making It Lose Relevance
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-10-09 04:13:46
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
So even Prashant Kishor has given up on the Grand Old Party (GoP). In a tweet Kishor made it abundantly clear that things between the celebrated poll strategist and the Congress have not worked out at all (till early last month, the buzz was that he was joining the GoP in a suitably prominent position). Just a few months back, Kishor was of the opinion that any opposition alliance without the Congress would not work. Obviously, he has changed his opinion now. What first gave indications of a divorce even before the marriage was the fact that Kishor and his organization I-PAC were playing an active role in snaring Congress leaders for the Trinamool Congress. But the tweet yesterday confirms that Kishor has, for now, decided to wash his hands off the Congress.
In his tweet, Kishor pointed out that the GoP was mired in "deep-rooted problems and structural weaknesses" and there were "no quick-fix solutions" for the same. This is correct. Ever since the late Rajiv Gandhi made his famous speech about ridding the party of power brokers, it is well known that the Congress is a democratic party only in name but has been hijacked by such power brokers. The top heavy party will never go for a complete overhaul (which Kishor might have suggested) as it will considerably weaken the stranglehold of the Gandhis.
For the party of make a serious impact once more, it needs to introduce structural reforms and reduce the ji-huzoor culture, as suggested by the G-23. It needs to hold organizational elections from grassroots level and promote grassroots leaders. This means promoting workers from the party and not only inducting the likes of Hardik Patel, Kanhaiya Kumar and Jignesh Mevani, however popular they might be. Their induction might be good for optics as well as some votes but it also causes bitterness in local leaders who have been serving the party for many years.
The Congress, it seems, is banking on the fact that after the BJP, it is the only national party with an all-India presence. Hence, it thinks that if the people decide to vote against the BJP, they will naturally vote for the Congress. It thinks that if it has proper alliances in place, it can still become relevant. But that is not true anymore. For the Congress, the alliance space is shrinking too. The AAP, the TMC, the BSP and many other regional parties are vehemently opposed to it. Then there are internal differences in Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Hence, if the Congress does not set its house in order fast, it is likely to see the ground slipping under it feet faster than it thinks is possible.
