The Congress party has shown its growing weakness in the recent Assembly elections. In Uttar Pradesh, it was humbled and even Rahul Gandhi lost. It met with disaster in Punjab and was beaten in Goa. In Uttarakhand, it was touch and go. What is surprising is that Congress President Sonia Gandhi has kept mum about the party’s structural failings. She attributed the failure of the Congress to rising inflation. She vaguely admitted that mistakes had been made but did not go into specifics. She brushed aside the accusation that her party’s failure was due to lack of leadership. Sonia merely said that the party probably had too many leaders. She remained silent on such major factors as faulty selection of candidates and the failure of the Congress to develop a democratic structure. The dynastic element continues to operate. The Congress has no regional leaders to reckon with. The old system of coterie and courtiers still prevails. All this stood in the way of judicious selection of candidates. The isolation of Rahul Gandhi in defeat is another sad indicator of the party’s lack of cohesion.
Inflation is undoubtedly a serious matter but cannot be the explanation for Congress defeats. How then could the party do well in Manipur and not so badly in Uttarakhand? The UPA has itself to blame for its setback. It has to reorganise itself. It should take hard decisions in the coming budget. Key policy decisions should not be allowed to hang fire. The Centre has to ascertain where the chinks in the UPA’s armour are and take steps to stabilise itself. In fact, the Congress has to “start from scratch” as Sonia Gandhi said herself after the defeat in Bihar. Or else, the Congress will erase itself in the elections in Gujarat later this year. Talk of mid-term parliamentary elections is already in the air.
