By Chiranjib Haldar
The dust has settled. The Congress party, the grand dame of Indian polity, after decades, has a non-Gandhi at the helm of affairs. Not a dynast but one who has been with the organisation from its grassroot cadre and has seen the party wade through both sycophancy and morbidity. The moot question that crops up now is where does the Congress party go from here? It is at a crucial crossroad. Either live up to the adage that the more things change, the more they remain the same. Which means Mallikarjun Kharge, the new Congress President acts as a cipher of the Nehru-Gandhi family with the real baton being wielded by Sonia Gandhi and siblings Rahul-Priyanka in guise. Or inclusively rejuvenate the moribund party from within, taking both diehard loyalists and dissenters in its stride.
It is a mammoth task to revive a beleaguered political party and steer it in the face of adversity. For the first non-Gandhi President in over two decades, there are challenges galore and Kharge would be hard pressed to deliver even before the 2024 general elections. Rebuilding confidence amongst disgruntled party workers, discussing threadbare their grievances and mollifying different factions within the Congress is easier said than done. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra despite the goodwill and camaraderie it has created cannot be a panacea for a robust poll-winning machinery where even a two percent swing often changes metrices. The upcoming assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh would be a kind of baptism by fire for Kharge and his cohorts.
The party must realise that it will be battling pro-incumbency of the ruling NDA dispensation in 2024 despite BJP aiming for its third successive stint. A tacit organisational reform and overhaul coupled with narrowing the generational gap could be real eye-openers for the party. Deserters can be wooed back if they are placated with genuine responsibilities and this is where the new Congress President has to do a tightrope walk. Balancing a defiant Ashok Gehlot’s dogma with Sachin Pilot’s cherubic ambitions will test his political acumen. Similarly, roping in new allies into the UPA fold while retaining existing alliance partners is another tough task. Congress has to reinforce the notion that any alliance will be a level playing field and not an arena for the grand old party’s arrogance.
One thing is for certain. Whether or not Mallikarjun Kharge toes Rahul Gandhi’s line or functions as an acolyte of the Gandhi family, Congress has its task cut out. First, to unify a nation that deeply values peace, coexistence and tranquillity and rediscover its ethos overriding sordid tales of chicanery. A firm conviction in political ideology that shuns whataboutery, polarisation and puts the focus on the party and not the Nehru-Gandhi lineage. Second to reinforce Rahul Gandhi’s leadership not as President but as a dyed-in-the-wool, inveterate politician who can guide a party desperately in need of a makeover. And this has more to do with projecting Rahul Gandhi as the only credible, acceptable challenger to the current NDA regime with all its wherewithal.
The existential angst of the once powerful Congress party and its malaise has more to do with the erosion of centrist philosophy. An alternate political narrative where the party shuns soft majoritarianism and revitalises its solidarity with the masses by focusing on issues relevant to public welfare and rebuilding its network at the grassroots. The Congress ship, as recent meltdowns show, is full of proverbial deserters who all want to be the captain and have put the onus of ineptitude on the party’s central leadership. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, umpteen spokespersons, the list goes on. If under Kharge’s Presidency, Congress can win some of them back it will no longer be a rudderless ship in shambles.
Politics unlike debating societies or open fora, is not only about oratory and rhetoric or even stating the truth in tandem. In today’s India where Rahul Gandhi is taking on a leader whose chutzpah is his ability to strike an emotional connect with masses. In such a scenario when voters are swayed by emotions, trying to be a statistical enumerator highlighting GDP, growth and human development data is not enough. Congress might be harping on facts but will that sufficiently counter the economic pitching of the BJP? There is no standard template for tackling verbal jugglery though erasing fake news with a fact check has yielded results.
A common refrain still prevalent in Congress circles is that only the Congress represents the nationalist, secular, multicultural, inclusive idea of India and that space could not be snatched away albeit by any coalition leave alone regional satraps. Rahul Gandhi’s diatribes at the BJP move in a clear loop like shots on news channels. He raises critical issues like federalism, widespread unemployment, inequality, crony capitalism and unfulfilled development promises. He also talks about how the Congress’ idea of the nation is being throttled by atavistic forces. After the party’s Lok Sabha debacle in 2019, Rahul Gandhi had stated ‘…we will not defeat our opponents without sacrificing the desire for power and fighting a deeper ideological battle.’ Congress has an ‘elected’ President, that too a veteran party loyalist, after decades. Moving forward to 2024, the party needs to churn.
The sceptre has passed on to a non-family afficionado. But unlike in history, sceptre and crown must not tumble down. Even if Rahul Gandhi and the first family of the Congress family actually wield the baton, the elected President has to assimilate himself to deliver the best.
The ideological shifts in the last decade echo not merely a political transformation ongoing in India but the ideological consolidation of the right in India, an experience that can only be fought by the grand dame of Indian polity, the Congress. One needs to witness the roleplays on display. There must be an antidote to the societal gobbling of the centrist space on lines of caste and religion and incessant polarisation. Despite all the hoopla by a section of commentators, even a fractured opposition with the Congress at the helm can challenge the NDA threadbare on the road to the 2024 hustings. Multiple aspirants for the coveted top slot often at loggerheads, can never be a deterrent.
Chiranjib Haldar (9831143930) (The writer is a commentator on politics and society.)