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| Source: The Hindustan Times |
I
would start this piece of writing with a disclaimer – that I am an eternal
optimist. It does not however mean that when the Congress party snatches defeat
from the jaws of victory, my heart doesn’t bleed. It does.
Politics
means pragmatism. It requires a ‘matter-of-fact-treatment’. It’s the ability to
know the reality- the writing on the wall. In the recent defeats in the
Northeast, the Congress party very well knew the writing on the wall and the
severe constraints it is facing. It definitely knew that, its political organizations
in the North East desperately required a Central spine. It also knew that the
BJP- RSS is working overtime and dubious methods to usurp power in these states
and it also knew that it is not doing any justice to its local leaders, whatsoever.
The Congress left its leaders in the Northeast to fend for themselves- not
because it wants to, but because it was forced to. It did whatever best it
could do in the current circumstances.
Some
unknown faces of the newly created and refurbished departments in the party belatedly
did camp in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland, but they were not able to clean up
the rot. Colleagues who I know personally, travelled extensively, tried to pump
in some oxygen in the organization, highlighted some issues to the Centre- even
though it was a small and fresh beginning, yet it was an important one. Had
they not done it, we would have been much below those 21 seats in Meghalaya or
some key state leaders would have deserted us in other states. Yet, the overall
picture one sees is that of apathy and disinterest.
So
what was the prime reason for this apathy? There are multiple reasons. The
first and foremost is the cleanup exercise which is going in the Central unit. The
weeding out of non-performers and the status quoists, enabling a generational
change and revamping of a new organization is the most important task for the
Central leadership as of now. If we do not have an organization, fresh faces
and hardworking leaders- we cannot build a new future. Sometimes you have to
start on a clean slate and that is what happening, in a gradual, albeit
calibrated manner. In an organization which is so entrenched and obsessed with its
past (and rightly so) one needs to balance out all age groups and regions and
representatives. The recently announced groups and sub groups for the AICC
plenary session, give us a peak in this process. More radical decisions need to
be followed and we would certainly see a change post March.
Lack
of resources and logistics is the biggest problem the Congress party is facing.
People may mock me for this assessment, but that is the grim reality. It is
unable to furnish even basic campaign materials for local polls like the recent
Uttar Pradesh local body elections, where a former Congress Minister of State
lost mayoral elections. Not every candidate or every elected representative possesses
the means to fight elections, especially in an increasingly competitive
political space where propaganda off all shades and hues and on all platforms
matter a lot. Nowhere, here am I
attempting to find a convenient alibi for the Congress’ defeat in these recent
polls. Yes lack of resources and logistics is only one of the factors. There
are many more.
Another
reason is that, some of the leaders responsible for these states have already
given up the fight even before they entered one. Some who did attempt to give
one were the young ones. They were brought in very late in the day in order to
somehow rescue the situation, but their hands were tied because of constant
interference by the older and more senior leaders.
The
key to win elections is to have an agenda and to package in a way that it
should appeal to your voters. I have repeatedly underlined this extremely
important issue in my earlier pieces. It is high time that the Congress spelt
its vision for India in the backdrop of the current political scenario.
At
the cost of repeating myself again, I am again quoting from a previous piece
which I had written in July
2017.
‘A solid, implementable narrative
and a new vision to take along those committed liberal voters who still believe
in those ideals on which the edifice our Constitution was laid. Time and again,
I have come to this conclusion that only a positive narrative can resurrect the
Congress.
For starters, we should look at our
own 2014 Manifesto. This 45 page document should be our Magna Carta to attack
and question the BJP. It will give us more credibility because we shall not be
merely criticizing the policies, but also put forth a positive policy solution.
“Had the Congress been in power, there were the 5 steps it would have taken to
solve agrarian distress”. “These are the steps that the Congress party would
have taken to create more jobs”.
The voter connect is only possible
when you gather small constituencies of groups together and target your liberal
supporters. Laziness, complacency and arrogance should be done away with. A
strong ideological resolve is needed so as solidify your support base. We all
know what ails the Congress party, we also have some solutions. No political
party that has a closed system and secretive in nature can function in a
vibrant democracy. We have to open the doors for the converted and to the swing
ones.’
Certainly
some heads need to be rolled given the complete disaster which took place in
the North East. Certainly, we should stick to our own Centrist ideology and not
make ideological compromises by aligning with the Left or Non-Centrist parties
and certainly we need a vision for 2019. The clock is ticking and we have very
less time.
All
the views expressed in the article by the author are strictly personal.
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