The principal opposition, the Congress party, is set to hold a Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir in Udaipur for three days from May 13. The so-called brainstorming session comes precisely two years before the next Parliamentary polls and a few assembly elections set in between. The roadmap for the 2024 polls will be laid out and work started in right earnest. The series of developments within the party in recent days are worth a close look as they will have serious bearings on the future course of the party. First and foremost, the leadership has put at rest the issue of rank outsider Prashant Kishor being given a role in re-energizing the party. All things considered, it has said the political strategist cannot be given any top position or role in the party; something that he had obviously aspired for. It is well-established now that the media hype over Kishor’s “Congress entry” was without any strong basis. The party would continue to be led by and identified with the family. It is generally understood that the leadership of the Congress cannot be handed over on a platter to someone who hobnobs with several political establishments in quick succession.
At another level, Congress working committee member of three decades, AK Antony, has exited from the top policy making body and left Delhi for good. He was a source of strength to Sonia Gandhi. She had lost another principal aide, Ahmed Patel, who passed away by the end of 2020. As political secretary, Patil had remained her eyes and ears for several years. In the absence of these two stalwarts, who stood on the right and left of Sonia Gandhi for years, she may find the task of leading the party difficult. She has health problems and cannot travel. Put together, the need to find a new president for the party is more urgent now. Perceptions are that she would either install Rahul Gandhi or find a working president from among the Congress leaders for now. Time is running out for the party.
Another significant development is the acceptance of resignation of Kamal Nath as Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh. As PCC chief, he was ignoring the party norm of ‘one-man, one post’ for a long time. The state is set for assembly polls by end-2023 and it should be time for the Congress to put its house in order in MP. It is even likely that Nath could be drawn in for more support to the party at the central level. A process of churning is inevitable within the Congress leadership.
