Kalyani Shankar
Should the Congress be worried about the continuing erosion of its workers and leaders? Are the rats leaving a sinking ship? There is no doubt that the party is losing its organisational depth, moreso since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power. There is rebellion brewing in various States. This week saw the exit of two senior Congress leaders Ajit Jogi in Chhattisgarh and Gurudas Kamat in Maharashtra. While Jogi, a former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, has launched his own outfit, Kamat wants to quit politics altogether. To add to the confusion, seven Congress MLAs have also left the party in Tripura.
The erosion began before the 2014 Lok Sabha poll when leaders like Birender Singh, GK Vasan, Jayanthi Natarajan, KS Rao, R Sambasiva Rao, Kiran Reddy, Jagan Reddy, Jagadambika Pal and Satpal Maharaj quit the Congress. NT Rama Rao’s daughter ditched the Congress for the BJP. Others like Krishna Tirath, Avtar Singh Bhadana and Mangat ram Sharma also quit. The leadership refused to recognise the brewing storm, fooling itself into believing that everything was alright.
Jogi’s rebellion follows revolts in Assam and Uttarakhand where rebels left the Congress, blaming the leadership for not addressing their grievances. While rebel Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma played a crucial role for the BJP’s win in Assam, former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna almost brought down the Rawat Government in Uttarakhand.
Though Kamat’s decision to retire from active politics came as a bolt from the blue, he represents the wounded sentiment of many loyalists. His exit will be a big blow for the party ahead of the civic poll next year. What should be worrying for the Congress is that most of the leaders have been Pradesh Congress Committee presidents or general secretaries at one time or the other.
It is baffling that even now the leadership has failed to grasp the seriousness of the situation despite rebels flexing their muscles in different parts of the country. First, the grand old party must address the leadership crisis. The party is confused about the role of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Will Rahul Gandhi ever take over as the heir of the party, and if so, when? What will happen of Congress president Sonia Gandhi then? A organisational reshuffle is expected, but there are apprehensions that Rahul Gandhi might ease out the old guard. In short, Rahul Gandhi can’t inspire confidence.
Second, the Congress leadership failed to see the brewing storm in most Congress-ruled States like Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand. Even Karnataka is not quite stable. The leadership had not detected the undercurrent even as the rebels were directly pointing fingers at them.
Third, the party is nearing a situation like it had faced in the 1990s. Just before Sonia Gandhi decided to take charge in 1998, several leaders like KC Pant, Aslam Sher khan, Dileep Singh Bhuria left the Congress. Around the same time, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee floated the Trinamool Congress. Sonia Gandhi’s entry arrested the erosion, and she not only unified the party but also brought the Congress-led UPA to power not once but twice, from 2004 to 2014. However, after Modi’s entry, neither she nor her son have been able to provide confidence to the party.
Fourth, the high command has not done much to nurture second-rung leaders. For months, Congress leaders from Punjab, Rajashtan, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana and Chhattisgarh have been complaining against the Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs. In Punjab, the leadership was forced to choose Capt Amarinder Singh as the chief ministerial face for the 2017 poll. Even the induction of leaders like Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Ambika Soni into the current Rajya Sabha nomination list shows that the old guard is not out. Many senior Congressmen are worried that the party may sink further if corrective measures are not taken.