Till radical changes are enabled by Rahul Gandhi himself, a dependent CWC will be meaningless and clueless
Even resignations in the Congress are inextricably linked to dynastic allegiance or endorsement. Or so it would seem considering that many in the election management team are now deciding to step down after party president Rahul Gandhi proclaimed that he would not reconsider his resignation and indicated his unhappiness with those who still clung on to their party posts. Since several minions had sworn that they would collectively own the responsibility of the Congress debacle in the Lok Sabha elections and failure was not Rahul’s alone, the delay in their actions has clearly irritated him. So they are now complying with his desire to avoid a fall from grace. Little do they realise that there is nothing left in the party to lose. And this is where the Congress’ biggest problem lies, much as Rahul may want to uncouple the family legacy from the party’s feudal psychosis. The partyman will still be a courtier. So much so that Rahul’s decision was not seen as a serious move but a sulk over spilt milk, one who could be coaxed back into sitting on the throne. This despite all the internal noise in the party about how his mediocrity and disconnectedness from reality, non-engagement with grassroot party units and elitist data and image warriors had done the party in. Fact of the matter is the Nehru-Gandhi aura has been reduced to the state of monarchy elsewhere, mattering at one time in drawing the electorate and holding the party together with their centrist interventions. And in a changed reality, where politics is now about greater stakeholdership, aspiration and empowerment, it is nothing more than ceremonial faces in a PR exercise. Even when the party’s first family stepped down from party positions and the prime ministership as required, the nominees were seen as its eyes and ears in absentia. That explains the continued grace being showered on the likes of Anand Sharma, who stayed close to the family when Sitaram Kesri was president and was trying to set a new course. In this atmosphere of entitlement and knighthoods, partymen have never really punched above their weight and remained subservient to the grand design, letting the family take the hits and misses. Meanwhile, they assumed the comforts of nobility, with their own sense of entitlement by virtue of being eyes and ears as advisors. They propagated their own fiefs, believing in stale ideas of handout welfarism and quota appeasement. Anybody with original thinking and a policy perspective has only paid a price of rejection, be it Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, Jaganmohan Reddy or Himanta Biswa Sarma, each of whom has either floated their own party or joined others.
It is precisely this proxy rule that has defanged seniors over the years. It is the same territorial comfort zone that has made Capt Amarinder Singh hold his own while being uninterested in the national fate of the party or being a part of its high command. Even if we assume that Rahul himself is on the road to redemption, fact is leaders are incapable of doing so. In that sense, the Gandhi tag is as much an asset as a liability. Rahul may have read the writing on the wall about the public denouncement of his family and is well-meaning about democratising his party. But he is yet to be responsible in his actions beyond retreating in the shadows. For example, Sachin Pilot, despite being shortchanged for coterie favourite Ashok Gehlot, is back in Rajasthan, working door-to-door. Sister Priyanka Gandhi is at least making some noise in Uttar Pradesh. Before hitting the “know-me” trail again, the least that he can do is ensure that able leaders, no matter how obscure or unknown, get the trusteeship of the party, considering minions won’t ignore his recommendation. Or the party could see breakaway outfits. At least that would make room for fresh air the gasping old party needs.