If the All India Congress Committee (AICC) hit on a plan to revive the Party by sending its office bearers across the country for half a day, give a press conference and critique the state government then it’s an ill-hatched plan. The plan has now boomeranged after AICC Secretary, Luizinho Faleiro literally labeled all Congress members who have shifted allegiance from the Congress as “fools.” Those who have jumped fences and joined the National Peoples’ Party (NPP) have shot back and said the joke is on Faleiro who is hanging on to the Nehru-Gandhi family’s dynastic leadership despite the Party’s electoral setbacks. Granted that the Congress Party did better than expected in Haryana and Maharashtra but in both states the BJP is ruling vide a coalition. The Congress continues to trail in every election and does not seem to have a strategy in place to counter the BJP’s repeated misadventures. The Congress could not even capitalize on the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, despite this being a great opportunity to for the Party to reclaim its lost space.
There is much that is wrong with the BJP’s policies since 2014. Demonetisation followed by a hastily implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) has dealt a severe blow to the economy. Unemployment rates are worst in the last 45 years. The growth rate of the current financial year has been pegged at a mere 6.2%. Meanwhile, India lost its place as the fastest-growing major economy of the world to China. India which has become the 6th largest economy in the world, surpassing France, has again slipped to the 7th spot.
The sector-wise performance is grim. Sales in automobiles have dropped by 18.71%, its worst performance in two decades. This has forced the sector to lay-off 15,000 employees, mainly comprising of temporary and casual workers. In other sectors too growth has slowed down and this includes the real estate sector with many properties lying unsold.
The country needs a strong and effective opposition to call out the Government. Sadly in all this the Congress is unable to provide an alternative formula other than the shrill criticism of Modi and the BJP. Voters don’t see the Congress as a credible opposition. In fact the situation is such that if voters want to reject the BJP they don’t find the Congress a viable alternative. The Congress in Meghalaya suffers the same predicament. To get things right the Party must do some serious introspection which means revamping the Party completely including change of leadership. Is the Congress ready for this? If not then flying visits by AICC office bearers have no impact at all.