Since Congress lost it badly in the Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi‘s call for accountability has impressed many of his leaders; one by one, all young and potential leaders have given their resignations. The irony is that Congress is having a dearth of a credible leader. People have lost their faith in them. In a fresh spree of resignations, senior Congress leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Milind Deora resigned from their posts. The resignations come as a blow in the middle of the Karnataka crisis and at a time when the party leadership is coping with the resignation of its President Rahul Gandhi, owning up responsibility for the Lok Sabha election debatable.
Scindia was the General Secretary in charge of western Uttar Pradesh, while Deora was heading the Mumbai Congress. Deora said that he was looking forward to playing a role at the national level to help stabilise the party. He recommended the establishment of a provisional collective leadership, comprising three senior leaders, to oversee the party’s city unit till the Maharashtra Assembly elections, which are due later this year.
Congress is suffering within and outside too. The BJP supporters have not stopped their attacks on Gandhi family and Rahul even after he resigned from his post. No one really knows why so much hatred for him. He is never been involved in corruption cases, never been involved in anything wrong. Opposition’s massive media mechanism has circulated millions of article and named him Pappu because he is the last man left in the Nehru Gandhi legacy.
Ruining Rahul Gandhi’s image is the last option BJP has. I wish Rahul Gandhi could have handled the situation more wisely and more than that, the Congress leaders need to understand the plight of the party and by standing firm by the side of their leaders. Anyways, BJP almost achieved what they wanted. Now coming back to the crises in Congress, no one knows when this ongoing resignation saga will end and some constructive decisions can be taken.
Indians are divided into two groups, one with Congress psyche and the other with the non-Congress psyche. Those with the Congress psyche do not see anything wrong in sticking with the Nehru family, sink or sail, whom they believe to be the deliverers and strength of National Congress. They adore the family and believe that as long as an heir from the family is present, there is no reason to indulge in politicking for the highest post. The rest will be content with other responsible posts in states and centre.
It is not just Rahul’s credentials that are important, the party can support him with capable leaders as supporters till he gains better experience and becomes better than them. They don’t question ‘Why Rahul? Well! Still understanding the sentiments of larger people, Rahul has decided to step down; Congress leaders should make the best use of the opportunity and bring the party to some elevation.
Unfortunately, they are not able to demonstrate their capability to come up with leaders who can be acceptable to entire India so far with possible exceptions of Vajpayee and to some extent Narendra Modi. Minus Modi, BJP may not be able to come up with another name for the 2019 elections. It is stuck up with Modi. TDP is stuck up with Naidu. TRS is stuck up with KCR. BSP is stuck up with Mayawati. SP is stuck up with father and son Yadavs. AAP is stuck up with Kejriwal. Trinamool is stuck up with Mamata. Almost every Indian political party is stuck with one person and one individual. There is no substitute in projection or authority or name or representation.
Like Gandhi’s and Nehru’s, each party is going to go in docks once their prominent faces go back seat. After Atal Ji’s retirement from politics, BJP took 20 years to come back to power. They had to create anger against Congress by various means. The unrest was created in India against UPA-2. The forces like Anna Hazare, Baba Ramdev, Ravi Shankar and all came on the roads to attack INC and family, because of all this background work; Modi was projected as the ‘Vikas Purush’ and Gujarat model.
The campaign was launched when people were looking for an option, a choice. Modi’s staunch Hindutva agenda, the Gujarat model, and social media campaigning made him a model and brand. With huge efforts and resources, BJP won with successful margin but BJP too have the same question, who if not Modi?
Without Modi, BJP has no parallel power, just like Congress without Gandhi. It’s BJP’s second term and people have already reached to saturation; once they too are done serving for long, the voters will search for a new option and changes.
If you remember, since independence, this is the fourth time that BJP-NDA has come to power and Congress-UPA has ruled the Indian politics most of the time. The regional parties have their own strength and weaknesses and they get an alternate chance to power. In spite of Modi being the Prime Minister, many states are ruled by Congress.
The time has come and political equations need to be set with some substitutes in minds. Congress has good young leaders and Rahul Gandhi has really matured with time, but he and his party must focus and rework. Eliminating Congress in India won’t be as easy as Modi and BJP declare it. India has only two national parties and if not one, the other gets to power. Let’s see how Congress is going to deal this stressful time and how BJP bakes their bread on disputes in opposition.
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