Congress leaders who had raised questions on the leadership ability of Rahul Gandhi in his absence are being sidelined. Indications to this effect were for all to see at the rally in Ramlila Maidan. There was a huge crowd from Punjab at the rally, but former Chief Minister of Punjab and deputy leader of the Congress in lok Sabha, Capt Amarinder Singh, didn’t find a place on the stage.
The rally was in Delhi but former CM Sheila Dikshit and her son Sandeep were also not on the stage; Sheila was, in fact, seated in front of the stage. Similarly, from the preparation of the rally to the event itself, Janardan Dwivedi was missing from action.
Needless to say, all these leaders had raised doubts over Rahul’s capability to lead the party, and rather shown confidence in Sonia’s leadership. Despite that, all of them have been pushed to the margins. KV Thomas had also praised Sonia instead of Rahul, but it is possible that AK Antony would save him. It was Antony who had pushed Thomas for a ministerial berth at the Centre. Veerappa Moily also might face problems. When Rahul takes command of the Congress, only new generation leaders will handle the organisation, with the exception of maybe Digvijaya Singh.
RAHUl’S YOUTH BRIGADE
The successful rally at Ramlila Maidan has established Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the party. The older leaders who were criticising his youth brigade have fallen silent. Before this, the Congress had organised a rally during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure. At that time, the Congress was in power at the Centre, in Haryana and as well as Delhi, but this time the crowd was much larger than the last time. That is why the stature of managers of the recent rally has gone up.
Members of the youth brigade were looking after all the arrangements of the rally. It is a fact that most people in the rally were from Haryana. Those who wore pink turbans were supporters of Bhupinder Singh Hooda. But this time, his son Deepender had worked very hard. The way Rahul has been launched at the Centre, Deepender has been launched in Haryana. In comparison, other leaders like Ashok Tanwar, Kiran Chaudhary and Selja Kumari have been sidelined.
As far as crowd management was concerned, Sachin Pilot came at number two. He has also been relaunched at this rally. In Delhi, Ajay Maken has made his presence felt. He was continuously on the stage, while other veterans like Sheila and Sandeep were sitting elsewhere. That is why it is being said that in the coming days, Rahul’s youth brigade will take command of the party.
FEW NEW MEMBERS IN CONG
Despite all the efforts, the membership drive of the Congress is not gathering pace. Rahul has had a meeting with the leaders who are taking care of the organisational elections, but that too is of no use; the membership drive is not bearing fruit. That is the reason why the last date has been extended from March 31 to May 15. Despite that, the Congress is not finding many new members. leaders attached with the membership drive say that only old and loyal people are becoming members of the party, but no new ones — especially the youth — are keen to join. M Ramachandran, a close associate of Rahul, also has not been able to propel membership drive in South States.
The Congress had earlier taken potshots at the BJP’s membership drive, calling it a party of missed calls. Now, the Congress is itself using all types of technology — from mobiles to internet — but isn’t finding new members. So, there is news that the organisational structure team has sought help from party veterans. Sources say that MPs and MlAs will also be attached to the membership drive. Senior leaders of States have been told to monitor the drive. For the past one month, leaders had been saying that they were busy with the kisan rally.
But now the rally is over and they have been told to concentrate on the membership drive. Probably, in next the one month, all the leaders of States, MlAs, general secretaries and MPs will be roped in for the same.
BJP’S POll STRATEGY
The leaders of BJP are worried about Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. After six months, elections will be held in Bihar, and in UP, polls are scheduled for 2017. In both States, there is groupism and infighting among the leaders, which is affecting the organisational work and preparation for elections. Probably, party president Amit Shah has instructed leaders to put an end to groupism and gear up for the polls as a united team.
Sources say elections in Bihar and UP will be fought on Shah’s formula — in both States, the BJP will not announce CM candidates. Party leaders think that both States are sensitive from the point of view of caste equations. Apart from this, kshatrapas in both States are experts on caste politics.
In this scenario, if the BJP announces its candidates, caste polarisation is possible against them. That is the reason there is speculation that the BJP will not announce its CM candidates in both States. The party will fight the elections on the basis of collective leadership using the work and performance of the Modi Government. Without announcing the CM candidate, the BJP won elections in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana, while it lost in Delhi after announcing the CM candidate. It is also being said that the BJP will have a chintan baithak in both States so that infighting can be stopped.
Rekindling Alliance
Assam elections are scheduled for the next year, and before that the Congress will try to renew its old alliance with Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). Though, BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary had parted ways with the Congress, and shown interest in the BJP, Congress leaders are hopeful that he can be taken into confidence for the Assembly Elections. Recently, there was no alliance between BPF and BJP in the elections for the Bodoland Territorial Council as both parties fought separately.
Congress leaders are also hopeful of a tie-up with AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal. But as long as Tarun Gogoi is the CM of Assam, an alliance between the Congress and AIUDF is not possible. It was Gogoi who was the reason behind Ajmal’s ouster from the Congress in 2005. Till date, there is a huge gap between the two leaders. So, there is no question of Ajmal’s return. But the Congress can play a game; it can target Ajmal and then try to patch up with BPF.
BPF is against illegal migrants and outsiders, whereas Ajmal supports them. So, the Congress and BPF had joined hands in making an issue out of Ajmal’s politics, and as a result they got support from all non-Muslim organisations. This time again, the Congress can resort to similar politics.
Though it is also true that such polarisation helps only Ajmal, and that is the reason why his party is the main opposition party in the State with 18 MlAs. But this politics of the Congress and BPF can stop the BJP. If the BJP and BPF forge an alliance, then it is certain that the Congress will be finished in Assam.
CPM’S IDEOlOGICAl PARADOX
CPM, the largest left party in the country, has decided in its congress that it will try to unite all left parties to stop the Congress with the support of other secular parties. However, Kerala is the biggest paradox of this ideology. In Kerala, CPM leaders can’t go with secular parties as CPM’s lDF fights against Congress-led UDF. That is the reason why CPM, despite claiming that it will take support of all other secular parties, has said that it will not go with the Congress.
It is said that even in West Bengal, the Congress and left will keep apart. Earlier, there was speculation that the two could come together to stop Mamata Banerjee and the BJP. But left leaders are cautious after seeing the increasing proximity between Mamata and the Congress. Apart from this, the Congress and CPM have gone head-on in Kerala. So, the CPM was forced to take a stand that it would maintain distances from the Congress.
Though it is also true that the new CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury has always supported an alliance with the Congress. But that support will only be seen after next year’s elections. Before that, possibly both parties might become a part of a single alliance. When the JDU and RJD either go into an alliance or merge, the Congress and left might go into an alliance with them.