#May16,2014 --- Narendra Modi conquered India....some thought it was a 'black day'..... I unfriended one old friend on FB that very day....as the remark showed disrespect to people's mandate !!
There are lessons for many political parties from the condition the country’s oldest
party has found itself in. Anti-incumbency or aggressive Modi-fied campaigns
were not the only factors for the decline. The decline of the Congress party
has been seductively gradual. The foremost of all was the steadfast refusal to
take corrective measures. The so called discipline, reduced to sycophancy, that could have been one of the greatest
strengths turned out to be a curse. The protectionism of the dynasty undermined
talent and thus the likes of Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora and Sachin
Pilot were never allowed to bask – the fear being - the young Turks could not
be allowed to overshadow Rahul Gandhi.
However,
by June 1, 2014, a fortnight since the verdict came, the Congress leaders in
isolation and in separate pockets started making noises especially against
Rahul Gandhi – in Kerala, Rajasthan and remote Mizoram.
Rahul surrounded by 'dynastic sons' - Hooda, Scindia, Gogoi |
For Sonia, the worst
and shocking news perhaps came from Mizoram when chief minister Lal Thanhawla,
a Congressman of many years and a Christian himself took on the Congress. He
had lambasted the party leadership of the manner it has been handling the
defeat. His
eloquent oneliners are more than the normal reactions from a disgruntled
Congressman. Lal Thanhawla
said the party “paid for its misdeeds” and it “does not know how to face
defeat”. He added he has written to Sonia to refrain from blame-game in the
party and rather introspect instead. “That way, the defeat we faced is good for
us,” he said.
Two
days later, another Congressman and senior parliamentarian Kishore Chandra Deo
commented, “Indira Gandhi had once said, -only Congress can defeat Congress.
That is exactly what happened”.
In an interview with Economic Times, Deo, who presided over Lok Sabha panel in 2008-09 on cash-for-vote scam, also analysed
candidly that the feedback and surveys Rahul Gandhi was trying to get was
hardly unbiased.
“He (Gandhi) was getting surveys through his people. A good effort
again, but when his surveyors go to the PCCs, they send them to DCCs. The DCC
chiefs were appointed by PCC chiefs, who in turn were appointed by AICC
managers from Delhi .
Ultimately his surveyors got feedback only from those who were part of the
party establishment. So Rahul could never get unbiased feed-back. ……It is a
vicious circle”.
Kishore Chandra Deo was also
critical of the roles played by the likes of Jairam Ramesh, who headed a group
of ministers in UPA that oversaw bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. “Some
green-horns and imported leaders may have been patronised by some within the
party and were taking crucial organisational, political and campaign decisions.
Jairam is a Rajya Sabha member from AP. I don't know who sent him there for
campaigning, or whether he went on his own".
Blogger in the corridors of Parliament |
Now
where does this lead to?
In
my opinion, the Congress leaders’ and Congress supporters’ disgruntlement has
been more against the Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi himself, whose
‘ability’ to deliver for the grand old party is now no longer a state secret.
An
honest analysis of 2014 Mandate would make it amply clear that no single factor
has contributed more to the downfall of Congress party in these elections than
Rahul Gandhi and his flirting with failures.
As
an ardent student of Indian elections, I find some similarity emerging between
Rahul and his ‘illustrious’ uncle, the Late Sanjay Gandhi, though as
personalities both are from diametrically different stocks.
So
has Sonia Gandhi emulated her mother-in-law Indira in displaying her
unquestionable love for a son, who is today seen as a political liability?
The
hapless Kerala Congressman TH Mustafa’s unceremonious suspension is a case in
point. His being a Muslim did not save the day!
Will photo opp. help? |
The ignominious
defeat of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had other stories to
tell. What does the mandate mean for Congress and the first political dynasty
of the country?
Normally,
any party which has been decimated at the scale of Congress would go ahead for
upheaval. The clamour should have grown on what would happen to the Congress
President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi. But in Congress, the moment
the results started pouring in, a firewall was being created on how to protect
the ‘family’.
On social networking site
the joke that went out viral rapidly was: “Son Rahul please come back home,
Mummy will not blame you for whatever that went on, we will blame uncle
Manmohan”.
That’s
precisely how people thought Congress is and exactly the manner Congress
behaved after the results too. Refusing to learn lessons and perhaps more
importantly shying away from responsibility, Rahul Gandhi pushed the party to
name low-profile Mallikarjun Kharge as the Leader of the Congress group in Lok
Sabha.
“This
mandate is more against the dynasty than the Congress party. Not only the
treacherous acts of the family were exposed in the form of corruption of Robert
Vadra, Narendra Modi had given a specific call against Ma-Beta ke sarkar,” said
BJP hardliner Balbir Punj. Expectedly the Congress leaders declined to buy the
line.
Instead
from Kamal Nath to Digvijay Singh to Jyotariditya Scinda to Abhishekmanu
Singhvi everyone said that Sonia and Rahul need not resign and instead “use the
opportunity” to revive the party. “The failure to communicate about the
government’s good works was the chief factor,’ said senior
leader Kamal Nath trying to blame Manmohan Singh regime for all the discomfort
generated by the mandate 2014.
(ends)
(ends)
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