The Congress is dead. Long live the Congress. The ideological and institutional monopoly of the 130-year-old party is gone with the wind of change. Many Congressmen feel that its value system has passed the sell-by date. Till the recent past, the thunderclap of its voices of freedom resounded in the hallways of history as India’s only bulwark against colonialism. Even now, it colonises Indian mind space disproportionately as a minimum party with maximum attention and traction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has vowed to deliver a Congress-mukt Bharat. He defenestrated the Congress. Still like the Canterville ghost chained to its own destiny, it roams the corridors of familial exile. Its state governments have either collapsed or are in danger of collapse under the weight of its own contradictions. Normally adversity unites. In the Congress, it divides.
In spite of the long winter of powerlessness, the Congress has retained its relevance, being recognised as one of the four national parties. Its oxygen comes from its main promoters, the Gandhis. They are in news once again. Now for the first time, three members of the Gandhi Parivar are actively involved in the hierarchy. While Sonia Gandhi is acting president until her own notice, daughter Priyanka has taken charge of Uttar Pradesh as General Secretary. Rahul Gandhi retains his slot in the Congress Working Committee and is the only candidate to replace himself, or his mother. Enslaved by its feudal history, the Congress continues to exploit the freedom struggle as a patented paradigm.
The first storm hit the Congress when Jyotiraditya Scindia defected and brought down the Congress government in Bhopal. Now, Cyclone Sachin Pilot has hit Jaipur. Since these two catastrophes, the Congress is in internal turmoil. Many of its leaders are calling for a massive purge and intense introspection. Since Indira Gandhi’s showdown with the Syndicate in 1969, the GOP has been confronted with many generational boil overs. In the last CWC, the confrontation between static seniors and impatient young netas got pretty nasty. Former Union Ministers sought a serious review of the latter’s ways and means to deal with current challenges.
Congress millennials questioned the UPA-II’s performance under Manmohan Singh, who was also present. Predictably, no consensus emerged. Evidently, the Gandhi mojo was under scrutiny by both detractors and loyalists. As the party’s geographical dominance shrinks poll after poll, its desirability as a match winner is waning. However, Gandhis are still the only all-rounders on the election ground. They’ve faced many googlies yet remain on the field in spite of not scoring much or taking wickets.
The Congress is the only national party which is identified by DNA over differentiation—the Gandhi genes are its protein code. During the past five decades, they’ve faced many revolts and splits—minor and major— yet never lost their pan-India appeal and recall. The Congress is a still political brand, which retains its small share of market in almost every district. Its evergreen bio data is biological since it fought the elections and won more seats under Nehru’s leadership until 1967. Ever since the first major split in 1969, the party won elections only because a Gandhi led it. As it acquired the ‘I’m Me and Mysef’ affix by seeking recognition as Congress (I), it became synonymous with Indira. It was under her that India cleaved Pakistan into two and won two-thirds majority in Parliament.
After losing the majority of the Assembly elections in 1969, the Congress won back over two-thirds of the states under Indira. The Opposition slogan then wasn’t ‘Congress Hatao, Democracy Bachao’ but ‘Indira Hatao, Desh Bachao’. Indira was adored by the lower and middle classes but abhorred by the rich and the mighty. It evolved into an umbrella party under which all castes and communities came together. Indira was an ideology. The Congress transformation into a mass based organisation led by a single powerful individual was complete. Since then, it has invariably survived many setbacks, thanks to its Gandhi halo.
After Indira was assassinated, her elder son Rajiv became the young hope of a modern India. The Congress almost wiped out the Opposition by winning over 400 seats and scoring massive victories in subsequent state elections. Though Rajiv blundered during his five-year tenure, his outfit still emerged as the largest single party in 1989. But like his mother, Rajiv was also assassinated. Many firmly believe that had he not been eliminated, Rajiv would have taken the party to a massive victory again after the VP Singh government fell.
From 1991 to 1996, PV Narsimha Rao was both the Prime Minister and party president. He was replaced by Sitaram Kesari. Neither of them could engineer a Lok Sabha win. Finally, Sonia Gandhi took over as party chief in 1998. She ruled as AIIC president for a record 18 years.After losing the general elections in 1999, the Congress under her leadership stormed Indraprastha in 2004, backed by an alliance forged by her. In 2009, the Congress crossed the 200 tally and formed the government once again. The credit went to the Gandhis and not to the party. It also scored significant victories in many states.
In 2014 and 2019, the Gandhi moxie was neutered by Modi Magic. The Congress couldn’t even retain the status of a recognised Opposition party in the Lok Sabha. It has been doing electorally better after Rahul became president in 2017. It regained power in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Previously, it won Punjab and did well in Goa and the North East. The contradiction is that most Congress leaders are confined to their own states and don’t have the chutzpah to battle the ruling BJP effectively. Only the Gandhis are aggressively challenging Modi and the BJP on digital platforms. They are indispensable because no other Congress leader has nationwide acceptability or connectivity. It’s obvious that their vertiginous veracity do not come from sycophantic leaders, but from the BJP’s excessive attention.
According to Congress insiders, the Gandhi strategy is to get more public attention from BJP supporters, spokespersons and ministers than the Congress itself. It appears that in the BJP’s attempt to deliver a Congress Mukt Bharat, it’s perpetuating a Gandhi Yukt Bharat. The Gandhi troika may not be perceived as serious leaders with an alternative agenda. But the saffron obsession keeps them in the news and on the political field. The BJP has the Sangh Parivar with a leader and an ideology. The Congress has only the Gandhi Parivar sans ideology and distinctive identity. Their family tree is the party’s Tree of Life. Its fruit may taste rotten to the BJP, but in the Indian political Eden, the serpent of dynastic dynamic is full of poisonous promise.
prabhu chawla
prabhuchawla@newindianexpress.com
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