New Delhi: For a party that thrives on loyalty and sycophancy, is it possible for leaders to openly blame Rahul Gandhi for the election debacle? The answer is so obvious that it does not need to be spelt out.
Congress's Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi. Reuters
Realising that they cannot attack Rahul the way they would like to, the Congress leaders are likely to come up with a clever formula. Instead of asking for Rahul to step down directly, they will seek the induction of Priyanka Gandhi full time into the party. Even though she restricted herself to the family pocket boroughs of Amethi and Rae Bareli in the 2014 general elections, she was the only leader in the Congress who effectively took on BJP’s Narendra Modi.
Even as the all important Congress Working Committee meets today, the highest decision making body of the Congress is unlikely to do anything dramatic. As tradition goes, we are likely to see a committee or a panel being formed under senior leaders to look into the debacle and suggest ways and means to improve upon their mistakes. But is that enough introspection for a party that has been overwhelmingly routed in the elections?
“It calls for immediate action. We must analyse what we did and where we went wrong,” says Satyavrat Chaturvedi, senior Congress leader. “After the introspection, follow up has to be done to ensure that we are on the right track,” he added.
Murmurs can already be heard at the party headquarters that nothing will come of the CWC meet and if the party does not take quick action or decide on a roadmap for the future, then all could be lost soon for the Grand Old Party. Some senior leaders like Anil Shastri have already set the cat amongst the pigeons by voicing their concerns in the open.
“Serious introspection is needed but surely not like in the past when suggestions arising out of the introspection were never implemented,” tweeted Shastri, son of former PM Lal Bahadur Shastri on social media site Twitter on counting day. The previous two reports on election debacles – one on the 1999 general elections prepared by AK Antony and the other on 2003 assembly elections prepared by Pranab Mukherjee - never saw the light of day.
If one goes by the mood of the party cadre, then Priyanka’s induction is the only way to keep the rank and file happy. Their morale is at an all time low and they want a face-saving formula which will keep their hopes alive.
“We have seen Rahul Ji and now we need to see Priyanka Ji. We need a new leader who can instil the kind of confidence in us” says Sonu Singh, a Gandhi loyalist from Uttar Pradesh. “If we get a chance to speak to Congress president, we will definitely tell her to bring Priyanka into politics,” he adds. Supporters firmly believe that it was Priyanka who was instrumental in holding the fort for Rahul and Sonia in Amethi and Rae Bareli respectively. If she had been given more space within the party, they could have countered Modi’s mega campaign more effectively.
On counting day, when it was clear that Congress was heading to its worst defeat since inception, rumours had already started doing the rounds of Rahul stepping down. By evening, there was talk that he may come and announce his decision to step down at the press conference held inside party headquarters. But as expected, nothing came of it and the party seems to be adopting the same old lethargic approach.
“The CWC will decide the course of action for the party. Of course, elections will be discussed, but I’m not authorised to say anything more,” says Akhilesh Pratap Singh, national spokesperson for the Congress. It is this very attitude that is now making most of the leaders think about their political future.
In a scenario where the BJP sits pretty with an absolute majority, Congressmen see a tough fight ahead. Behind closed doors, most admit that Rahul does not measure up to the task of taking on Modi. They feel Priyanka’s aggression is the only solution to counter Modi’s macho and larger than life image.
So what options are left for the party to decide its course of action? Stay with the same set of leaders or bring fresh, aggressive faces into the party. Asking for Rahul’s resignation seems out of question now – in true Congress tradition, most leaders will rush to defend the Gandhi scion. But there will be no objection to voices asking for Priyanka’s induction into the party forum. After all, she too is a Gandhi and such demands cannot be viewed with suspicion.
With each passing minute, the movement to bring in Priyanka is gaining ground. It’s only a matter of determining who will raise the issue, and whether it will be done during the CWC meet or later. All eyes are now on Sonia Gandhi, whether she will continue to be ruled by a mother’s unconditional love for Rahul or will she don the mantle of a party president who needs to rise above all and take tough decisions based on the wishes of the party.
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