If the Congress is serious about elevating Rahul Gandhi as the party president, it must do it now. He does not have the luxury of time
Is Congress scion Rahul Gandhi finally going to become the president or is it going to be one more kite-flying newsIJ While his supporters want him to take over immediately, the old guard wants Congress president Sonia Gandhi to continue. She became the party president in 1998, and her term will come to an end in December. Many within the party feel that the mother-son duo has not worked well as the workers are confused. There will be added confusion if Priyanka Vadra enters politics.
Rahul Gandhi’s supporters give two reasons why he should take over now. First, the line of succession has been clear and it is only a question of time. He has been waiting in the wings for the past 12 years since he entered politics in 2004. He was elevated as the party vice president in January 2013 and has virtually been functioning as the chief since then. Almost all party functionaries report to him directly. Moreover, Congressmen, who are alarmed at the rapid decay of the party, want to see some change.
Second, Sonia Gandhi is not keeping good health and may not be able to undertake the rigorous elections tours and other strenuous activities as the party chief. Also, she has been taking a back seat, asking all those who go to her to meet Rahul Gandhi for important decisions.
However, there is no doubt that Sonia Gandhi has a stature and old-timers still prefer her over Rahul Gandhi, who is seen as a reluctant leader. She has proved her mettle in the past 18 years by steering the party to power twice. She failed only once, in 2014. When she took over in 1998, the party was on a low, with people leaving the sinking ship. Her entry checked that erosion.
It took her more than six years to bring the party back on track. She functioned as the first woman leader of Opposition in Parliament. Her efforts brought the party back to power in 2004. She went round mobilising non-BJP ‘secular’ parties on one platform by building the UPA. She also succeeded in keeping the party in power for the next 10 years, and ruled the country through proxy by making Manmohan Singh the Prime Minister.
However, good times did not last long as Narendra Modi entered the scene as a macho Prime Minister and won the 2014 poll. Neither Sonia Gandhi nor Rahul Gandhi was a match for him.
Where she failed was in building the organisation, which needed a surgery. Unfortunately, while the mother-son duo detected the root-cause of the problem, the two did nothing to improve the situation. As the Congress began to lose State after State and came up with just 44 seats in the 2014 lok Sabha poll, its lowest ever, the morale of the workers also reached rock bottom.
Rahul Gandhi’s experiments in reviving the Youth Congress and other measures came to naught. On the other hand, the fight between the old guard and the new guard has ruined the chances of the party.
Rahul Gandhi has contested three elections successfully, representing Amethi in Parliament. But he has missed several opportunities to prove his leadership qualities. He could have become a Minister in 2004, perhaps even the Prime Minister in 2009, and could have taken over the party any time, as he had (and also has) no challengers.
The result is that people think he has no leadership quality. He may be a crowd-puller, but not a vote-catcher, as has been proved in successive elections. Bihar was an exception but that was because of the poll tie-up with the Janata Dal (United). Many have noticed his lack of focus, energy and enthusiasm. He is two decades younger than Modi, but no match to him. Rahul Gandhi has now resorted to road shows and is lunching in Dalit homes to change his image. His temple visits have increased in the past two years, showing a soft Hindutva line. The Congress is now trying to appease both the communities.
Rahul Gandhi does not have the luxury of time any longer. Five States are going to polls next year and another eight States in 2018, before the 2019 lok Sabha poll. He needs to build a new team, enthuse the party workers, build contacts with allies and find more partners to strengthen the UPA. For this, the first step is to do well in the ensuing Uttar Pradesh and Punjab polls. The roadmap is clear. Rahul Gandhi will first oversee the organisational shake-up, followed by taking charge of the party — and thereafter a much needed chintan shivir to look into the reasons for its electoral debacles and the way forward.