Should Rahul Gandhi Resign from Post of Congress President
By
Col (Retd) Bhaskar Sarkar VSM
Karnataka Election Results shattered the dream of Rahul Gandhiji becoming the Prime Minister. He has led the Congress Party to one of its worst electoral defeat in recent times. Should he accept responsibility and resign from the post of Congress President? Let us examine some facts before coming to any conclusion.
Political Achievements of Mr. Rahul Gandhi
Gandhi entered politics in 2004. He won from Amethi, a family bastion. He won again from the constituency in 2009 and 2014. Rahul Gandhi was elected Congress Vice-President in 2013. He led Congress campaign in the 2014 Indian general elections that ended with Congress’s worst electoral result in its history. Congress won only 44 seats compared to 206 in the 2009 general election. But that did not prevent him from taking over as Congress President in 2017.
Rahul Gandhi campaigned during the 2012 UP Assembly elections for almost two months. He held over 200 rallies. However Congress won only 28 out of 403 seats. Congress won only two out of the 15 seats in the Amethi parliamentary constituency. Congress lost Himachal elections in 2017 getting only 21 out of 60 seats. He led the Congress campaign in Gujrat Assembly elections in 2018. Congress won 57 seats out of 182. Congress failed to win even a single seat in the Assembly elections in Tripura and Nagaland which were held in 2018. Congress got only 21 out of 60 seats in Meghalaya and was shunted out of power. In Meghalaya, BJP got only two seats, but the BJP-NPP alliance got 32 out of 60 seats and unseated Congress. He put all his energy in the Karnataka Elections but the result was a disaster. Congress seats in the assembly dropped from 122 to 78 and BJP formed the government.
Since Rahul Gandhi became the party’s vice president in 2013 the Congress has lost 2014 General Elections and nine state Assembly elections. Congress won three during this period. It won in Bihar in alliance with JDU and RJD as junior partner. It won in Punjab due to strategy of Mr. Amrinder Singh and Puducherry.
It will be seen that Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s performance in polls has been miserable. If he had not been born with a golden spoon in the Gandhi family, he would have been booted out a long time back.
Reasons for Decline of Congress
Practice of Feudal Democracy
As per Oxford English Dictionary, “feudalism” is a European social system in which people worked and fought for noblemen in return for land. That was the system in India where the kings and landlords (zamindars) were the equivalent of the European noblemen, the privileged class. Thus “Feudal Democracy” was government of the people, by the privileged for the privileged.
This was the system under which our first General Election was held in 1952. Most of the candidates were from the Congress and from the privileged class. Most of the electorate were illiterate and looked upon the politicians with awe. The issue was not what the political leader would do for the people. The people were to pay obeisance to the political leader and the privileged class. The head of the family or the village elder decided who to vote for. Congress won almost everywhere.
Times have changed. The level of education, political awareness, economic conditions and fear of authority among the electorate has changed. The people are no longer awed by the politicians. They demand essential services, favours and development and are quite prepared to throw out arrogant or non performing leaders. Congress has been unable to accept this change in the attitude of the electorate and junior or grass root leaders. Thus Rahul Gandhi feels that getting elected from Amethi is his divine right. He feels it is the duty of the people of Amethi to elect him. He may be in for a rude shock in the next election if SP and BSP do not bail him out. Out of the 15 assembly segments in Amethi parliamentary seat, only two are with Congress. Rahul Gandhi has no time for the people of Amethi. Why would they vote for him?
A fallout of this feudal approach to elections is visible in the selection of candidates. Most of the candidates are selected from the privileged class. Local talent is generally ignored. Some senior politicians contest from two seats. Kin of senior politicians are given priority in selection. The senior politicians, who have annoyed their electorate by arrogance and neglect, are shifted to so called safe seats. It is only natural that they lose wherever they go. Thus the seats with the Congress dwindle with every election. The second fallout is that grass root leaders who are denied seats to make room for senior leaders contest as independent or join other political parties and make it difficult for the parachuted candidate to win.
Feudal approach also leads to formation of coteries. There is no accountability at any level. Thus Mr. Jitender Singh, a close confidante of Mr. Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi was made in charge of Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election. He made a hash of it and Congress was thrashed. That has not deterred Rahul Gandhi from making him in charge of Odisha.
Feudal approach also leads to rule by Congress High Command. The high command makes sure that popular, out spoken and rebellious politicians from the state do not become too powerful. Clashes between strong local leaders and the Congress High Command have resulted in splits in the party. Some instances are given in the succeeding paragraphs. Some more splits may be in the offing.
If the Congress is to survive in the competitive environment of today’s politics, selection of leaders at all levels must be merit based and not dynasty based.
Breakaway by Regional Leaders
Many competent Congress leaders quit the party over differences with Congress High Command. The first to go was Mamta Bannerjee in 1997. Ignored by senior leaders and Congress High Command, she quit and formed the All India Trina Mool Congress (TMC). She ended 35 years of CPM rule in the state and become CM. She has reduced Congress to a fringe player in West Bengal.
Sharad Pawar, P A Sangma and Tarik Anwar opposed elevation of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to the post of Congress President and prime ministerial candidate saying she was not native born. When this was not accepted they left Congress to form Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in June 1999. This reduced Congress strength in Maharashtra, Bihar and Meghalaya.
Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of the former Congress CM of Andhra Pradesh fellout with Congress High Command and formed Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSR Congress Party) in March 2011. He has almost wiped out Congress from Andhra. His party holds 67 out 175 seats in Andhra Assembly. Congress has none.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was founded on 27 April 2001 by K Chandrasekhar Rao with a single point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. Congress did finally grant statehood to Telengana but not gracefully. In the process it lost support of both Telegu Desam Party (TDP) and TRS. In the 2014 Assembly and General Elections, TRS did not align with NDA or UPA. It won 11 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats and 63 of the 119 Assembly seats.
Reluctance to form Opposition Alliance
BJP has core support of 30 to 40 percent voters. Some are Islam phobists like my brother. Others are supporters of Hindutya. Some are sold on Modiji’s promises and GDP growth and see no alternative. So BJP will win in any multi cornered poll. Every political novice knows that. But Congress prefers to go it alone with disastrous consequences. If Congress had tied up with JD(S) before Karnataka Elections, BJP would have been restricted to 50 seats and Congress would be sitting on the treasury benches instead of around Gandhi statue in protest. It refused to align with SP and BSP in UP byelections. Both its candidate lost their deposit. Mamta Bannerjee helped to get Congress leader, Abhishek Manusingvi elected to Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. Congress responded by joining with CPM to oppose TMC in Panchayet elections in West Bengal.
In 2004 UPA had Congress plus 14 parties as members and 334 MPs out of 543. But Congress arrogance and inflexibility started an exodus. The TRS was the first party to quit the alliance in 2006. MDMK left in March 2007. The BSP left in 2008 after the Congress started opposing the BSP Government in UP. Left Front quit in July 2008 over Nuclear Treaty with the US. AIMIM of Andhra withdrew in Nov 2012 and TMC withdrew in Sep 2012. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha quit in Nov 2012, DMK quit in 2012 but rejoined in 2016. How can Congress work against its allies in the states and expect them to support Congress in the Centre?
Why does Congress behave the way it does? Rahul Gandhi himself let the secret out. He cannot be the Prime Minister unless Congress wins seats on its own. So defeating BJP is not a priority. Becoming PM is.
Conclusion
Rahul Gandhi reminds me of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zaffar. He was an emperor without an empire. He depended on the regional Satraps, the Scindhias, Peshwas and the Nawabs of Oudh and Bengal for his title and his pension. His mistake of joining the Sepoy Mutiny caused him to lose his empire. Rahul Gandhi’s refusal to treat the regional Satraps with due respect and gratitude will finish Indian National Congress within 5 years.
Modiji wants a Congress free India. He does not have to try very hard. Mr. Rahul Gandhi is doing his best to achieve that aim. But regional Congress parties like NCP, TMC and YSR Congress will survive and flourish because the stand for socialism, secularism and federalism. As the main Congress party withers, more regional Congress parties may immerge in MP, Rajasthan, UP, Bihar and Assam.
Should Rahul Gandhi resign? If he wants to save Congress he must and get a pro opposition unity leader at the helm of Congress. Alternately, he must change himself to be a humble and accommodating partner and not the imperious PM in waiting. He must learn to respect the regional Satraps and their views. Change is possible. Robber Ratnakar became sage Valmiki and wrote Ramayana. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, UK educated suited booted Bar-at Law, became Mahatma Gandhi, the naked fakir who led India’s struggle for freedom. Modiji, the chaiwala, became the suited booted, world leader hugging, headline hogging PM of India and forgot the poor and need for drinking water, public health facilities, jobs and roots for bullet trains, expressways, cashless society, foreign investment and GDP growth. Let us watch what Rahul Gandhi does.
+ There are no comments
Add yours