Anil Anand
a.anil.anand@gmail.com
On verge of completing two-years in existence and that too a smooth one with leading partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) far below the 272 simple majority- mark in Lok Sabha, if it is an ode to the managerial skills of the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo, equally it speaks volumes about the tattered I.N.D.I.A bloc of the opposition parties. More so, it’s pivot Congress groping in dark and unwilling to refurbish itself despite organizational failures all around.
A united and cohesive front could have created psychological pressure, if not capable to break the BJP-led NDA combine, to create insecurity in the saffron party camp which is thriving with only 240 MPs. Question arises why the I.N.D.I.A bloc’s disinterest on this count?
While the I.N.D.I.A combine leaders seemed in no mood to break bread, busy ploughing their lonely furrows guided by their inflated egos, to take benefit of Mr Modi’s weakened Lok Sabha strength, on the contrary he has been able to further strengthen his position by plotting a coup of sorts in the key ally Janata Dal-u camp in Bihar. By cornering the party supremo and chief minister Nitish Kumar and “convincing” him to settle for a Rajya Sabha berth in lieu chief ministership, the Modi-Shah camp has reduced the central dispensation’s vulnerability.
They have thrown a gauntlet, afresh, at the I.N.D.I.A combine particularly its core the Congress which is the only national party in the opposition camp with pan-India presence. While the regional players such as Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Party (though not part of the combine) supremo, Arvind Kejriwal and DMK chief M K Stalin are content strengthening their respective state-level turfs, the Congress, plagued by a faction ridden organizational set up and showing no hurry to sew the loose ends, is simply looking the other way round for reasons best known to its top brass. No one in the camp seems to be interested to pick up the gauntlet.
Independently they are waging their respective battles against the Centre (read Modi-Shah)- Ms Mamta in the poll bound West Bengal has definitely been one up over the duo, Mr Stalin also gearing up for Tamil Nadu assembly elections later this year has been successfully countering every move of the BJP to unsettle DMK-led alliance and buoyed by a recent lower court verdict giving him reprieve in the alleged excise-scam, Mr Kejriwal has started flexing his muscles even after having lost his Delhi turf, his mainstay and banking heavily on Punjab where he is running the government by proxy.
Barring Mr Stalin with whom senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has a comfort level with DMK-Congress having arrived at an understanding over distribution of seats in Tamil Nadu, both Ms Mamta Banerjee and Mr Kejriwal have made their intentions known after some recent developments favouring them. Their common intention seemed the I.N.D.I.A bloc leadership thereby posing a direct challenge to Mr Gandhi.
Mrs Banerjee, whose image of a street fighter has not diminished either with age or after having become chief minister, has been fighting Mr Modi move by move on the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls particularly in the states governed by non-BJP governments. His prime targets are West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, all three presently ruled by opposition parties or alliances. She even went to the extent of appearing in person before the Supreme Court to argue the SIR related case while having opened a front against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
No doubt, Mr Gandhi is the only leader at the national level who, despite persistent personal attacks and vicious propaganda by the BJP and it’s IT cell, has literally taken the bull by the horn. He has been upfront in launching a direct attack against Mr Modi mostly on issues related to governance, attempts to silence the opposition, using all means, and the communal credo being pursued by the saffron party as a political weapon.
However, he is different from both Ms Banerjee and Mr Kejriwal and which puts the two at an advantageous position. Both have strong organisations to back them up unlike Mr Gandhi who is content with pursuing solo acts without realizing that every such acts needed organizational backup to send the message across to the public.
Ms Banerjee’s recent declaration that she will see removal of Modi government and embark on a nationwide tour after “winning” the West Bengal assembly elections, and Mr Kejriwal showing similar intention after a lower court in Delhi gave him and Manish Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, should have alarmed and alerted Mr Gandhi and his advisors, if any. Unfortunately, there are no such indications with indecisiveness ruling supreme.
Under the prevailing circumstances Ms Banerjee is a legitimate claimant for I.N.D.I.A leadership. It is on account of the fact that she has been more forthcoming, with clarity, on matters political with her never-say-die spirit holding her aloft. Definitely, Mr Gandhi too has such a spirit but his plans and strategies lack clarity which at times have been weakening this spirit to the advantage of the ilks of Ms Banerjee and Mr Kejriwal.
While both of them are in total control of their respective party organisations which have been backing their leaders and delivering at crucial times, this cannot be said either of Mr Gandhi and particularly Congress as an organization both at the AICC and state/Union Territories levels. As a result, an impression is gaining ground he is unable to muster courage to take on the old-guard many of whom are still demanding their pound of flesh, while others already accommodated at high places have hardly shown any will to substantially contribute and redouble Mr Gandhi’s fight-back efforts.
Similarly, many of the PCC chiefs, including Delhi, are either non-performers or have not come up to the party high-command’s expectations. Nevertheless, the high command (read Rahul Gandhi) has been ignoring this vital aspect.
Rampant factionalism, at times fanned by the quarters concerned in the AICC, wrong selection of PCC presidents and the resultant weakening of the organization, had led to Congress missing the chance, repeatedly, to corner Mr Kejriwal in his stronghold Delhi. Owing to this neglect, deliberate or otherwise, the party lost its ground and has been pushed to the margins by ceding all space to either AAP or the BJP.
This paradoxical situation prevailing in the Congress is posing a grave challenge to the party’s claim to be the I.N.D.I.A leader. The party should prepare for a scenario to remain as the combine flag-bearer in case of NDA partners such as Telegu Desam Party, led by N Chandrababu Naidu, part ways at any given point in time. How to remain in contention for this top slot while keeping in mind that Naidu-Mamta-Kejriwal- Stalin combined together will not look favourably towards the Congress? This should be Mr Gandhi’s concern and the key to success lies in taking tough decisions enroute strengthening the organization at all levels.
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