Clear hints are that the Congress house is on fire. The exit of eight of its 11 MLAs in Goa and their entry to the BJP this week came alongside the exit of Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu and Kashmir and announcement of his plans to form a party. The tri-colour party is virtually demolished in two states at a time when Rahul Gandhi has set off on a five month-long Bharat Jodo Padayatra from Kanyakumari with the slogan of “uniting India.” His central aim is to raise his stakes and of his party in the run-up to the 2024 parliament polls. By the time he reaches Kashmir after passing through 12 states, the fate of the Congress is anybody’s guess.
The Congress as the oldest political establishment still has its roots across the country. It was patently corrupt but not as corrupt as the parties run by regional satraps. The Congress party has a legacy and commitment to the nation, which are unquestionable. It sees India as one and Indians as a unified whole. Yet the weak spots in its present leadership profile are there for all to see. It’s run without a full-time president for the past three years and still maintains its composure. However, Congressmen are increasingly wary that the BJP under PM Modi is unassailable. Without any hope to regain power, how long will they sit in the sidelines not just in Parliament but in state assemblies too, is a pertinent point. The sense of their disquiet is being exploited to the full by the BJP to finish the Congress off.
The BJP can never become the only political establishment. The space that the Congress ceded in state after state was grabbed by regional politicians who formed their own parties. They mostly turned these into family enterprises, amassed wealth and are creating empires of their own. The loopholes in the Indian systems allow the corrupt to get away with their act. In the past, such indulgences were not so blatant under the Congress in these states as is now the case with the satraps. Prime Minister Modi himself keeps lamenting about the sway of dynasties in politics. This is amid perceptions that he himself had not promoted his wider family interests. The Congress party is also a dynasty but it, in a wider context, is more than a dynasty. It conducts itself with a better sense of responsibility when national issues crop up. It has a wealth of talent. These are very important. India deserves a strong two-party system at the national level. BJP must take note.
