THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the culmination of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress national general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal has emerged as the numero uno in Congress, silencing his critics in the party. There are many in the party who believe that even after the plenary session in Raipur during February 24 - 26, Venugopal will continue to remain strong and wield power.
When veterans like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal as well as second rung leaders like R P N Singh, Sunil Jakhar, Ashwani Kumar and Hardik Patel quit the Congress citing lack of transparency and sycophancy, their target was Venugopal.
There have been instances when Venugopal was often compared with the late Ahmed Patel, political secretary to Sonia Gandhi. But an unfazed Venugopal gave scant regard to their accusations and moved on with his duties.
Senior Congress MP Rajmohan Unnithan who was there in the Kerala contingent at the BJY’s valedictory programme in Srinagar told TNIE that Venugopal has got a tough challenge ahead to unite the large number of opposition parties under a single umbrella against the BJP, which often succeeds because of the fragmentation in the votes opposing it.
“While Rahul Gandhi has emerged as the king, Venugopal has become the kingmaker. The credibility of Rahul Gandhi has increased manifold post the BJY. It was his commitment and allegiance which helped him to move on against all odds. People are now convinced that he is definitely an alternative against Narendra Modi”, said Rajmohan Unnithan.
If BJY did not have any political inclinations as it was aimed at uniting the country, the “Haath se Haath Jodo” is focussed at reaching out to people in the interiors ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
But the path ahead is not going to be a bed of roses for Venugopal with imminent Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Chattisgarh followed by the general elections.
But there are certain senior leaders who blame Venugopal for not ensuring the coordination of all the Opposition parties at the culmination of BJY. “The role played by veteran Digvijaya Singh should not go unnoticed. Also, Jairam Ramesh did the talking throughout the BJY and many times his words hit the target. Venugopal has to strengthen the organisation first if he wishes to increase the existing total strength of the Lok Sabha Congress MPs from 52”, another Congress MP told TNIE.