The letter written by 23 Congress leaders has immediately achieved four objectives for the Congress party irrespective of the intentions of its signatories, and lifted the party out of its stupor.
Sonia Gandhi’s term as the interim president of the Congress party ended this month. A year ago, she reluctantly accepted the responsibility despite knowing that it would be too burdensome to handle her illness and the terminally ill party at the same time. A year later, things remain the same, both for Sonia Gandhi and the Congress party. She bravely continues to fight her illness in an exemplary manner, but the Congress party, on the other hand, continues on its downward spiral. But recently, 23 Congress leaders wrote a letter to the interim Congress president that was then conveniently leaked to the media. It was a bold move to collectively write this letter and rather audacious to leak its contents. But what caused these leaders to do so?
The last full-fledged election that the Congress fought was 7 months ago in Delhi. Since then it has either been sitting idle or has been forced to engage in firefighting in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and now in the Congress Working Committee. In fact, Congress’ house is constantly on fire because the party has refused to use its opportunities. For example, it could have converted the resentment against CAA-NRC into a broad socio-political alliance. It could have ridden on the back of the massive migrant crisis in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It could have articulated and forcefully expressed the pain of millions of Indians who suffered job losses or financial set-backs due to the lockdown. The Congress didn’t do anything as an opposition party. Rahul Gandhi has more or less succeeded in remaining relevant within the Congress as well as in national politics. But he is doing it for himself and not for the rejuvenation of the party. On the other hand, the party’s cells are so dead that they do not want to take advantage of the ripples created by Rahul Gandhi’s activism.
The letter has immediately achieved four objectives for the Congress party irrespective of the intentions of its signatories. First, the CWC has reportedly agreed to set up a 4-member panel to assist the interim president. What should have been done a year ago is going to materialize now. It is, however, foolish to expect that the panel would have representation from the people who wrote the letter. Such largesse does not exist in the intra-party politics in India. Secondly, the ‘leaking’ of the letter to the media has started the process of the election or selection of a new Congress president. This is an objective that was desired by the letter-writers. The pertinent question is why no process was initiated a few months ago to elect a new party president to relieve Sonia Gandhi of her interim charge. Who are the leaders who are advising the interim party president not to initiate the transition?
Thirdly, the letter has brought about a CWC meeting, which in turn is leading to the rediscovery of internal democracy within the Congress party. Even when the signatories to the letter stood isolated in the CWC, the highest decision-making platform of the Congress party has been forced to take note of the letter and act accordingly. We do not know what the treatment these signatories will receive in the days to come. What is important is that the letter has not been torn and thrown into the dustbin. This is significant, particularly as the letter has asked for a ‘full time’ and ‘effective’ president without demanding that Rahul Gandhi should take over the reins from his mother. Can one imagine leaders of other parties daring to write such a letter to their party bosses? Has anyone heard of prominent BJP leaders writing a letter to their party boss expressing dissatisfaction over the state of the economy or penning down their concerns over Chinese encroachments in Ladakh?
Fourthly and finally, the letter has activated the factionalism within various Congress state units. Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh unequivocally supported Sonia Gandhi, which was partly necessitated by the fact that the ex-CM of Punjab, Rajinder Kaur, is a signatory to the letter. Similarly, in Maharashtra, the state unit chief, Balasaheb Thorat, promptly requested Rahul Gandhi to be the party president. He was, obviously, scoring a point over Prithviraj Chavan and Milind Deora who are competing to replace Mr. Thorat as the state unit chief. Ms Saileja wanted to show Bhupinder Hooda his place, and was therefore reportedly rather vocal in the CWC meeting. Jitin Prasad is believed to have become a signatory to the letter as he is allegedly not happy with Priyanka Gandhi’s efforts at building a new team in Uttar Pradesh. Factionalism is a sign of liveliness as far as the Congress is concerned. Congressmen across the country are known for fighting against rival factions more vehemently than against their political opponents. When prospects look good for the Congress or when they gain power, factionalism thrives in the party. When the high command successfully manages the factionalism, the Congress flourishes. When the high command neglects or uses high-handedness against one or the other of the factions, the party suffers losses. We can expect more fireworks in the state units and centrally if all goes well for the Congress party. Therefore, one can conclude that the Congress is alive and kicking even though it is currently waging a war against itself.
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Column
Parimal Maya Sudhakar
29th Aug 2020
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