By Lyzander E Sohkhlet
From Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi, The Congress Party fought long and hard and led India to its Independence. But today it is in power only in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh. The situation is so grim that people aren’t even questioning whether Congress would be able to win the 2024 General Elections but instead are questioning whether it would remain the opposition party after the 2024 elections, Undoubtedly therefore the Congress Party is at its endgame and clinging to its life.
In a strong democracy, we not only need a strong government, but also a strong opposition. And if Congress can’t be this strong opposition, some other party would need to come to the forefront as a strong opposition. But for any other party, whether it be Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress or Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, it would take a long time for either of these two to rise to the level of the INC. For the next few years, at least the Congress would remain the main opposition till the 2023 Rajasthan and Chattisgarh elections. Broadly speaking, Congress has less than a year to save itself.
So what destroyed the Indian National Congress over the years?
1. Nepotism is the biggest elephant in the room. Rahul Gandhi, the “Crown Prince” of the Congress Party has been permanently labelled as a dynast. It’s not that there aren’t any dynastic politicians in other parties. Indian politics is filled with dynastic politicians in every political party. Even in the BJP there are many more dynastic politicians than the INC but why are the cameras only pointing to Rahul Gandhi? And why is it that he bears the brunt of being a dynast? Well, Rahul Gandhi is the Incompetent Face of the party. Had he been a competent politician, people would have ignored this “dynastic” tag. In 2019, Rahul Gandhi resigned as the INC president, and his mother, Sonia Gandhi took over. But in 2022, when we read about the Congress Party, why is it that we see Rahul Gandhi at the forefront? In campaigns, rallies, or press conferences, it’s the same everywhere.
If Rahul Gandhi really wants to be the face of the party, he doesn’t have sufficient experience for that. Wouldn’t have it been better in 2000 when Rahul was 30 years old if he started building a political career then? He should’ve campaigned in a state and become its Chief Minister? But he didn’t do so. In 2004, Rahul Gandhi entered politics and won the Amethi seat from Uttar Pradesh, a Congress stronghold and family bastion. The UPA government was formed and Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister. Rahul Gandhi could’ve held a cabinet post but he didn’t do so. Then in 2007, Rahul Gandhi was made “Chairman Of Youth Congress” a position made especially for him. In 2009, when the Congress won the re-election, Rahul Gandhi could’ve become a cabinet minister, and demonstrated his value as a legislator but he didn’t do that either. In 2013, he was made the Congress Vice President, another position created for him. Later in 2017, when he became the President of the INC, the Vice President post was withdrawn. When it came to proving and shaping himself as a PM candidate, Rahul Gandhi failed.
2. Where are all the other leaders?
In the BJP, you can recognize and name many leaders such as Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Adityanath, Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani, Dr. Jaishankar, and many more. It doesn’t matter who’s a good politician or who’s not but you recognize them and they are widely popular. But in the Congress Party apart from the Gandhi family, most politicians are unrecognizable. We recognize some INC leaders such as Kamal Nath and P Chidambaram who made headlines for their involvement in scams. Digvijaya Singh was in the news for his love affair, Captain Amarinder Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia because they left the party, and Shashi Tharoor for his English vocabulary. Most political parties depend on movements and revolutions for the groundwork and working for and with the people. But most INC leaders aren’t even seen on the ground. The other parties don’t face problems to this extent. TMC has Mahua Moitra known for her fiery speeches in parliament. There’s Manoj Jha of RJD and his speeches go viral on social media and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi who is widely popular in Hyderabad.
In 2019, Priyanka Gandhi finally entered politics, and many INC supporters believed if she entered the game she would revolutionize the party but she did get in the game, and we saw what happened. INC won only 2 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Why did her supporters think she would be the trump card? Well, their answer was because she resembles Indira Gandhi and that she would win back India as her grandmother did in 1980. But just because one resembles a politician does not prove one is competent. For a long time, Priyanka Gandhi was not interested in politics but when she ventured in she was unsuccessful.
3. Ghosts on Social Media?
As of 2021, almost half of India’s population are very active on social media, The INC internal organization is so bad that Sonia Gandhi even as the party’s president can’t be seen in interviews, or at press conferences, let alone on social media. In this digital age, social media plays a crucial role in politics. Rahul Gandhi is the “face of the party.” Why don’t we see him anywhere except on Twitter. He later claimed that his follower count has started to drop. He also has Facebook and Instagram accounts where he can post and talk about issues he cares about but he rarely does that. Another problem that creeps up is that Twitter shows that when there’s an issue, Rahul Gandhi tweets about it once and does not follow up with any issues with sincerity and dedication
Lastly, even with Rahul Gandhi put aside, the biggest problem that exists in the INC today is that they can’t counter the narratives nor can they set any. Recently, when a BJP MLA shockingly stated that we should “smoke cannabis as an alternative to alcohol,” the Congress Party did not condemn nor attack the BJP on such a statement. Secondly, The Congress Party does not set a narrative or a solid plan before the people. How can they solve unemployment? How can they revive the economy? How can the Congress Party paint itself as a socialist party and attack the BJP for supporting crony capitalists when it accepts corporate donations too?
The Indian National Congress needs to reinvent itself to survive the next few years. It needs to introspect, admit its mistakes, and correct them. It needs to keep a keen eye on the opposition and have its ears to the ground. It needs to have a clear message and narrative to communicate to its voters. It also needs to have a strong team, with no place for anyone who has been found guilty of any wrongdoing. Finally, it needs to have the will to fight and win the next few elections. But the question is can they actually do this?