A revival for the Congress party will be a long haul. This is also because the ruling BJP is making every effort to avoid yielding ground to others, by fielding its strong faces like PM Modi and Home Minister, Amit Shah. At the same time, the Congress party cannot remain a spent force. It has its long-nurtured network across states but what it lacks now is a more assertive leadership. Sonia Gandhi, who ably guided the destiny of the party for over two decades, is known to be having health problems. She is no longer in control of things. Her latest effort to put together a high-powered consultative panel with former PM Dr Manmohan Singh at its helm is seen as the harbinger for a revival of the Congress party’s fortunes under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
Clearly, Sonia has kept aside all her close advisers such as Ahmad Patel, AK Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad. More importantly, daughter Priyanka Gandhi does not find a place in the panel, where Rahul Gandhi would sit next to Singh. All of its members are those with whom Rahul Gandhi is comfortable with. It is no secret that Rahul Gandhi stepped aside from the party chief’s post after the last Lok Sabha polls in 2019 because he had lost faith in the old guard, and was convinced he could not carry on with these men and their constricted viewpoints. The perception is that Rahul Gandhi is comfortable with the new generation of leaders but would not mind associating with the likes of P Chidambaram or Manmohan Singh. With a new set of leaders forming the consultative panel for the party, it could be assumed that Rahul Gandhi would sooner than later return as party president. A video conference he held with party chief ministers the other day was loaded with hints that he is bent on getting actively involved in party affairs again.
The fact of the matter is also that most of those in the panel do not have any major clout. With Jyotiraditya Scindia gone, the party took a hit in Madhya Pradesh; it lost power too as a result. The party got back into power in Maharashtra and is on the ruling side in Jharkhand, in new forays. BJP has been neutralized in these states with skilful political management. Curiously, Kamal Nath too has been kept out of the new panel. Now it looks like Rahul Gandhi will choose his own team and strive to reclaim a new space for the Congress Party in India’s stormy political realm.