More than strategies, Congress must be willing to take tough decisions for 2024
The Congress party is agog with speculation about the role self-claimed political strategist Prashant Kishor may play in the organisation. The feelers are that he will plan the strategy for the 2024 general elections. His designation is not known. He has met the ‘high command’ thrice in a week and has drawn a broad outline of how he would like the Congress to play its cards in the run-up to the elections. For a party down and out after repeated drubbings in the general and Assembly elections, the entry of such a ‘wizard’ should have galvanised the cadres. On the contrary, there are questions galore. The second-rung leadership, especially the already-disgruntled leaders collectively known as the G-23, is not amused at the possibility of losing influence to an outsider. The party is also in the process of completing its organisational elections to find a full-time president. If Kishor is to hand-hold the new president, he would necessarily have to be part of the inner team. That will set the tongues wagging more. What would the senior leaders do if Kishor is to look after the entire electoral and campaign strategy, have a say in candidate selection and play a role in the Congress forging alliance with like-minded parties? That is an ego-hurting reality the ‘high command’ has to tackle. Externally, the Opposition dynamics for 2024 are well known. There are 268 seats in the non-BJP-ruled States that are at play for the regional forces and the Congress. The latter would be in a direct fight with the BJP in around 180 seats.
However, certain issues make these numbers redundant. Where is the alternative national narrative of the Opposition? Criticising Narendra Modi is not the narrative. Will Kishor discover the magic narrative? The Congress was nowhere in the public discourse over the recent communal disturbances in various States. In Delhi, the public harangue was limited to the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party. If the Congress is wary of making no comments that can lead to sharper communal polarisation, Kishor faces the uphill task of making the party go on the offensive. Enabling the ‘high command’ to activate the party cadres and try and win popular support is another Herculean task. Would he advise the likes of Sharad Pawar on arranging tie-ups of regional parties with the Congress? Assuming these problems are overcome, with or without Kishor, a minor process remains: The Congress finding a national narrative that is propagated by its leader, or the face of the Opposition, and, in the case of the Congress, try translating the messaging into votes. And Kishor is still to consider the AAP that is snapping at the Congress’ heels in State after State. The ultimate task of any strategist is to get people to vote for the Congress. Kishor’s first test will be Gujarat. Even if he has a strategy, is the Congress in a position to make the most of it?