With general elections barely four months away, and in the wake of the setbacks faced by the Congress in the recent state elections, the air is thick with pessimism. Worse still, the doomsayers lament the alleged absence of a coherent agenda for the INDIA group, and its lack of a single face to pit against the redoubtable Narendra Modi. Do we have answers to them?
The second criticism is more easily dealt with. The BJP has a single face to pitch to the nation as in the last two elections, Modi’s. INDIA has several. Our slogan should ideally be one we briefly tried in 2014 and failed to persist with: “Main nahin, hum (Not I, we).” Those Indians tired of the I-me-myself personality cult will welcome a team of experienced and proven leaders who will work collectively together in the public interest.
On the first charge, it is my view that we must reaffirm the idea of India that the Congress has stood for and the positive agenda it offers the nation. Despite the BJP’s colossal failures of governance, its propaganda machinery is so effective that their successes are remembered. In turn, the public wants to hear a positive message from the INDIA alliance. Don’t just attack Narendra Modi and the BJP, we are told; give us a narrative of your own.
INDIA’s, and the Congress’s, core beliefs reflect the values it has embodied since the freedom struggle—in particular inclusive growth, social justice, abolition of poverty and the protection of the marginalised, including minorities, women, Dalits and Adivasis. These have been distorted and portrayed as pandering to vote banks rather than as the visceral convictions they are. The Congress has been speaking out for these sections of Indian society and INDIA must do so with even more intensity.
INDIA is the political embodiment of India’s pluralism and a strong, committed voice for the preservation of secularism as its fundamental reflection. We should not be shy of reiterating our belief in these values. The BJP’s abandonment of Indian pluralism in pursuit of the folly of a Hindu rashtra has made minorities insecure and undermined one of India’s greatest assets.
Our differences from the BJP are stark. We seek to empower minorities, the BJP marginalises them in ghettoes. We give election tickets to Muslim candidates; the BJP’s is the first government in independent India’s history to have no elected Muslim MP in the Lok Sabha, and today, not in the Rajya Sabha either. The BJP’s supporters engineer anti-minority violence to promote polarisation; we seek to douse the flames.
Inclusive INDIA must shift the terms of the debate to development. Where is sab ka saath sab ka vikas? Where is achchhe din? Why should we now believe in amrit kaal? We can point to what we accomplished in 10 years of UPA rule—MNREGA, RTI, RTE, food security, millions of new bank accounts with real money in them. We work to improve the economic status of all Indians, including minorities. The Congress is the party that liberalised the economy, but it also has a strong commitment to social justice. We want economic growth, but we must ensure that the fruits of growth reach the poor and the marginalised. We must lift the poor up so they can enjoy the full benefits of our economy. We are proud of our record in pulling millions out of poverty during our rule and remain committed to continuing the effort. India will not “shine” until it shines for all.
In urban India, INDIA must speak for the basic necessities that urban voters lack. We should speak to and lead the struggle for better public utilities like city transport, pothole-free roads, affordable housing, clean drinking water, decent education in government schools, adequate healthcare facilities, public parks, cleaner air and improved sanitation and effective waste management. We should use facts and figures to point out that the BJP’s performance in these basic challenges of urban governance has been woeful and that they do not deserve the votes of the urban public.
The needs of rural India represent an obvious political opportunity for us: the mounting farmer suicides, the inadequate funding of the MNREGA, the lack of increase in minimum support prices (MSPs) paid to farmers for vital crops, and the increase in distress migration in the countryside represent easy targets for INDIA. We have tried and tested policies in response: massive loan waivers, rural aid packages of minimum income, increased funding for MNREGA and higher MSPs, the NYAY scheme. Critics can call it “welfarism”; we must wear the badge with pride. Our poor need welfare.We must not allow the BJP to monopolise the nationalist narrative either. As the party with the most experience in safeguarding India’s national interests, INDIA must proudly articulate its own nationalism and remain vigilant on security and foreign policy issues that could be mishandled by the BJP government. Though our tradition is that political differences stop at the water’s edge and that foreign policy is India’s, not any one party’s, we must not allow the BJP to use its governmental position to be identified as the sole protector of Indian national pride, which we may define very differently.
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We also need to articulate a vision for the future that embraces the aspirations of India’s majority—the young. A startling 40 percent of voters are under 35. They need to hear what we have done and can do for them. Our party has done a great deal of work in the areas of education and skill development, but not enough in job creation strategies. We need to evolve policies in this area to be implemented in the states we rule and to be advocated at the Centre. Young Indians must believe we understand their aspirations and can be trusted to promote them in government.
These principles and practical suggestions are by no means an exhaustive list. But in my view they offer some pointers to the way forward for India’s oldest, most inclusive and most experienced party, as part of a formidable alliance, to restore its past glory. INDIA must rise to the challenge. India needs it to.
Shashi Tharoor, Third-term Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram and the Sahitya-Akademi winning author of 24 books, most recently Ambedkar: A Life