A revitalised and effective Congress is just not possible under the Nehru-Gandhi family. There needs to be a break from the leadership
As an avid news junkie I must confess the end of the election season has left me with more spare time than I need and the beginning of withdrawal symptoms that is worrisome. While politicians and the electorate are yet to fully comprehend what has come to be, I too have had my share of self-realisation. As is said of the military that war is too serious a matter to be left in the hands of Generals, so too it seems can be said for politics. The inability of either a majority of the political class or of most political commentators to either understand the concerns of the electorate or predict the results does them little credit. If anything, the pathetic attempts of analysts to quietly adapt their earlier views to current realities, politicians are still in shock, only impacts their credibility and exposes them to further ridicule.
The defining image of this election for me is not that of Mr Narendra Modi addressing the victory rally at Vadodara but of a smiling Ms Sonia Gandhi and Mr Rahul Gandhi mouthing inanities while conceding victory. Their lack of grace in publicly acknowledging Mr Modi and the BJP's spectacular showing was particularly telling, congratulating the ‘next Government’ notwithstanding. They say, class tells, more so when confronted by adversity and this is undoubtedly true for the Nehru-Gandhis and their actions do not portray them in a particularly flattering light at all.
Their inability to do the correct and decent thing and fall on their swords does them no credit and only shows them out to be mean, power-hungry and self-serving, exactly what they have been alleging against Mr Modi over the past year. While the BJP may want a ‘Congress-free’ India, it can be nobody's case that we do not require or need a robust and effective national opposition party to ensure accountability on the part of Government. This cannot be done either by the regional parties, which are focused on meeting their regional aspirations, or by the Aam Aadmi Party which, with its four seats, is still in an extremely nascent stage of development despite a decent start.
A revitalised and effective Congress is, therefore, the need of the hour. But as the groundswell of opinion has clearly shown, this cannot be done under the Nehru-Gandhis whose personal credibility to lead is in tatters. While the Praetorian Guard makes feeble attempts to distance the family from the disastrous showing as it simultaneously blames Mr Manmohan Singh and his Government for the present state of affairs, it finds itself in the cross hairs for its sins of omission and commission. It is now for the others in the Congress stand up and be counted, otherwise they, even more than the Gandhis,will be responsible for the eventual demise of this grand old party. There is no point in being intelligent and articulate, as some of those who have won their seats on the Congress ticket undoubtedly are, if one does not have the moral courage or integrity to stand up for what is correct and just and in the interests of the party and the country.
Finally, while the Election Commission may breathe a sigh of relief as the focus has shifted from them, it is clear that lack of imagination, initiative and decisive leadership has badly dented its credibility. In this day and age when saffron, white and orange caps are the rage with political activists of all hues, the Election Commission needs to pull up its socks or it may just find itself wearing dunce caps in future.
(The writer is a former Army officer, and now a consultant with the Observer Research Foundation)