Anil Anand
a.anil.anand@gmail.com
Two decades in politics is not a small period. Though the learning curve never seizes to exist but the time comes in the life of a political leader to give a real account of his or herself and accordingly take tough decisions. Such a situation cannot be allowed to linger on for ever in view of the dynamically changing political situation.
Ironically, after two decades of active politics and in between an unsuccessful bid as president of India’s oldest political party, Indian National Congress, Rahul Gandhi is still finding himself in crossroads. Which way to go and which road to take, he seems to be stuck in a dilemma.
He has allowed himself to be the de facto chief of the party and at the same time his close aides take pains to deflect this situation by painstakingly reminding the country that Mallikarjun Kharge is the full-fledged elected president of the party. There is no denying this fact but the ground realities point towards a different direction.
Kharge has been the Congress president for over three years after defeating Shashi Tharoor, with the full support of Gandhi and his family. Everyone knows that Kharge’s candidature was openly backed by Sonia Gandhi that had set the course for the poll outcome. Ever since Tharoor, being suspect in the eyes of the Gandhi-camp backers, has acquired the status of a rebel while Mr Gandhi remains a de facto boss calling the shot.
Whatever Gandhi did during the last three years (Mr Kharge’s tenure) naturally has his stamp, and whatever he did not do also has his stamp. The “not doing” part pertains to indecisiveness- be it taking over the mantle as Congress president, bringing far-reaching organizational changes or implementing his own words expressed from time to time. He has to take equal credit or blame for decisions taken or not.
Solo acts without the backing of a solid organization will not take you any far Mr Gandhi. Nor will closing your eyes from rejuvenating the Congress.
This prolonged paradox has now started manifesting dangerously and is desperately awaiting a rescue act. On the contrary, the situation has become more serious with the positive impact generated by Mr Gandhi’s strenuous Bharat Jodo Yatras (BJYs) almost on the verge of evaporation. In the absence of a follow up plan and failure of the deeply divided party units from AICC down to the states and Union Territories levels failing to effectively take Mr Gandhi’s message to the grassroots levels, the historic event is slipping into oblivion.
The BJP sleeper-cells are merrily running PCCs of many of the states and UTs.
If it reflects Mr Gandhi’s shortcomings, it is also an abject failure of his support team who work in close proximity with him in either sustaining on ground the aftermath of such gigantic programmes, or tendering an impactful advice to him. The oft-repeated complaint in the AICC circles and a question often being asked in public is; “Who are Mr Gandhi’s advisors”. No one knows the answer.
Yet another common refrain is his and his AICC team’s, particularly the general secretary (organization), K C Venugopal, inaccessibility to party leaders and rank and file. Leave aside the public at large. This is a jarring situation which none other than Mr Gandhi himself can tackle. He has to set a new model, through personal example, to be followed by others down below. He has a multifaceted personality with a strong knowledge bank but most of the time he misses the point of primarily being a leading political light which entails leading from the front with personal example.
His fight for the marginalized sections of the society is commendable which has also been his quest to bring the core support base back to the Congress. A missing balanced approach, caring for all and antagonizing none, has led to this quest though creating a buzz but no accruing any electoral benefits. This is something Mr Gandhi must sit and mull over.
The political situation in the country is dynamic and changing fast with serious questions being raised about thinking, policies and planning of the Narendra Modi government. More importantly, the handling of the social fabric of the society.
The unfortunate episode involving Swami Avimuktesh-warananda ji, Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth, at Prayagraj Magh Mela, who sat on dharna protesting against being insulted by the administration with no word of pacification coming either from Prime Minister Mr Modi or UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, has added a new grist to the political whirlwind. This is a serious development which Congress cannot ignore particularly in the face of the aggressive Hindutava agenda of Mr Modi and the Shankaracharya questioning the veracity of the same.
Unfortunately, the Congress does not seem prepared to act in consonance or preferably remain a step ahead of the situation, with these fast-paced developments. In contrast, BJP and Modi government’s fire-fighting techniques are ever ready and re-discovering at a fast pace to repeatedly turn the table.
The Congress and Mr Gandhi must shun lethargy if he has to remain in the game. Well, there are misdemeanours of the ruling dispensation such as Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and various other measures that tilt the balance in its favour thereby preventing a level playing field, and Mr Gandhi’s fight on this front is laudable, but nothing will succeed without setting his house in order. He cannot be seen as fighting as a loner but a leader leading the strong pack which he must develop speedily.
Firstly, he must clear his mind whether he wishes to perpetuate the current de facto model of Congress leadership, intends leading from the front, or is prepared to give chance to someone else. In any situation decision making should not become a casualty. It is because of the indecisiveness and opaqueness in the AICC working that the things have worsened by the day.
Someone might say that even Mr Modi is far removed from BJP’s rank and file but still his graph has been rising for the past decade. The strong organisational system and back up, and capacity to take hard decisions is what makes the difference in his case. There is a multi-tier mechanism in the saffron party’s organisational set up which keeps both Mr Modi and his party going through all seasons.
An opposition leader like Mr Gandhi who is continuously under the scanner of his political opponents, cannot afford the luxury of remaining oblivious to an emerging situation or the challenges which his own party has been beset with. There is a strong case for transition and generational change which he, ostensibly, wishes to pursue. It requires courage, conviction, vestitude, flexibility and at the same time will to take strong decisions.
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