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Delhi, Indore, Surat and Banswara — why these are the most challenging domains for Congress internally
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
The Congress Party’s recent electoral travails in Delhi, Surat, Indore, and Banswara have cast a harsh light on a chronic ailment — the neglect of grassroots leadership and local units. This malaise is not a sudden onset but a gradual erosion of foundational structures that once buttressed the party’s national edifice, analyses Political observer and columnist Prof. Sayantan Ghosh.
In the grand political theatre of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress Party stands at the edge of a precipice, gazing into the abyss of uncertainty, particularly in the domains of Indore, Surat, Banswara and Delhi. These constituencies have morphed into vivid symbols of the party’s internal discord and the formidable hurdles it must surmount to reclaim its electoral prowess.
Indore has metamorphosed into a battleground of betrayal and opportunism, where the Congress, abandoned by its candidate’s retreat and a prominent defector’s embrace of the BJP, faces a vacuum of leadership. This vacuum necessitates awkward alliances with minor factions, a fragile attempt to challenge the entrenched might of the BJP.
Surat narrates a saga of negligence and procedural blunder, where the Congress, blindsided by administrative ineptitude, lost its candidacy, handing the BJP an uncontested laurel. This fiasco highlights the dire need for meticulous candidate curation and organisational introspection.Banswara presents a paradoxical spectacle, with the Congress caught betwixt and between, endorsing an ally’s contender while its own warrior defiantly strides the battlefield. This schism not only fractures the party’s voter base but also exposes a glaring absence of coherent strategy and unity of purpose.
Similarly, the resignation of Arvinder Singh Lovely, the Delhi Congress president, clearly indicates that the party did not consult the local units before announcing candidates or finalising alliance deals.
These vignettes paint a portrait of a party in flux, grappling with existential conundrums in an arena teeming with rivalrous ambitions. The Congress must now traverse these turbulent waters with a rekindled sense of purpose and direction. It must mend internal schisms, streamline nomination protocols, and articulate a resonant vision that stirs the soul of the electorate.
As the Congress grapples with these formidable adversaries, its adaptability and evolution will be paramount. How it responds to these adversities will not only shape its destiny in these pivotal battlegrounds but also sculpt its identity as a formidable national entity in the unfolding chapters of India’s political saga.
Communication Gap
In the midst of these elections, it has become increasingly evident that the Congress party has faltered in selecting suitable candidates for many constituencies across India. This failure carries significant implications for the party’s future and highlights critical issues within its organisational structure.
One of the primary reasons behind this misstep is the lack of effective communication and coordination between the party’s local units and the high command. Local units, comprising grassroots workers and leaders familiar with the ground realities, play a pivotal role in identifying potential candidates who can connect with voters at a grassroots level.
However, if there is a disconnect or breakdown in communication between these local units and the high command, it can lead to the selection of candidates who may not be best suited for the constituency.
Moreover, the absence of a robust feedback mechanism exacerbates the problem. Without timely and accurate feedback from local units regarding candidate suitability and voter sentiment, the high command is left to make decisions based on incomplete information.
This can result in the nomination of candidates who lack popular support or fail to inspire confidence among voters. The repercussions of this flawed candidate selection process are significant for the Congress party. It not only diminishes the party’s electoral prospects in the current election but also erodes trust and confidence among its grassroots workers and supporters.
A party that cannot effectively leverage its local units and maintain open lines of communication risks alienating its core base and losing relevance in the long run. To regain its footing and revitalise its electoral strategy, the Congress party must prioritise rebuilding its communication channels with local units, fostering a culture of transparency and inclusivity in candidate selection processes, and actively soliciting and incorporating feedback from grassroots workers. Only through these measures can the party hope to address its current challenges and emerge stronger in future elections.
Ignoring Grassroots Leadership and Local Units
The Congress Party’s recent electoral travails in Delhi, Surat, Indore, and Banswara have cast a harsh light on a chronic ailment — the neglect of grassroots leadership and local units. This malaise is not a sudden onset but a gradual erosion of foundational structures that once buttressed the party’s national edifice.
The high command’s approach, often perceived as imperious, has seemingly alienated the very cadres that form the party’s backbone. Decisions appear to be handed down from an ivory tower, with little regard for the local acumen and the pulse of the grassroots. This top-down strategy has not only stifled local voices but also led to strategic blunders, as evidenced by the candidate selection fiascos in the aforementioned constituencies.
The structural sidelining of grassroots leaders across states points to a deeper existential crisis within the party. A centralisation of power, ostensibly to prevent any challenge to the Gandhi family’s preeminence, has inadvertently stifled regional leadership from blossoming. The consequence is a leadership vacuum at the local level, where no leader feels empowered enough to steer the party’s fortunes.
As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unfold, the repercussions of this disconnect are becoming increasingly evident. The lack of grassroots leaders and the disregard for local units have not only diminished the party’s electoral prospects but also raised questions about its ability to govern democratically. For a party that prides itself on its historical legacy, this is a moment of reckoning.
To reverse this downward spiral, the Congress must embrace a more inclusive approach, one that values and integrates the insights of its grassroots leaders. It must foster a culture where local units are not mere executors of high command’s will but active participants in shaping the party’s destiny. Only then can the Congress hope to rejuvenate its organisational strength and reclaim its lost glory in the annals of India’s vibrant democracy.
Leadership Exodus
As the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unfurl their political tapestry, the Congress Party stands at a precipice, its ranks thinning in a steady stream of departures that whisper tales of discontent and disillusionment. This exodus is not merely a trickle of isolated exits but a deluge that signals a tempest within, a storied institution grappling with its identity and direction in an era clamouring for change.
The departure of luminaries like Gourav Vallabh and Ashok Chavan to the BJP is not just a footnote in political annals but a poignant chapter of introspection for the Congress. Vallabh’s exit, a clarion call for the party’s introspection, echoes through the corridors of power, lamenting a vision lost and a connection with the grassroots severed. Chavan’s farewell, too, is a sombre reflection of a party’s inner tumult and a leadership’s unheeded voices.
This cascade of resignations, which began to swell around 2020 with the likes of Jyotiraditya Scindia and Amarinder Singh charting their own courses, has laid bare a stark reality: a centralization of power that has left regional sentinels feeling eclipsed and voiceless. The Congress, once a beacon of collective leadership, now faces the spectre of a leadership vacuum that threatens to erode its foundational pillars.
The ramifications of this leadership exodus are profound and far-reaching. It heralds a weakening of the party’s once formidable bastion and a waning of public trust. It raises the curtain on a stage where the Congress’s role as a formidable challenger to the BJP is cast in doubt, as it strives to quell the discord within and present a facade of unity.
For a party woven into the very fabric of India’s history, this exodus is a siren song calling for a renaissance. The Congress must heed this call, to embrace the grievances of its guardians, to decentralise the levers of power, and to breathe new life into its bond with the grassroots. Should it fail to navigate these turbulent waters, it risks being relegated to the footnotes of history, a fate it must endeavour to rewrite as it faces the trials of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Gaps in Sealing Alliances
The resignation of Arvinder Singh Lovely from his post as the Delhi Congress chief amid the alliance with AAP underscores the deep-seated discord within the Congress Party. This rift highlights a significant divide between the decisions made by the party’s high command and the sentiments resonating within its local units, signalling potential repercussions for the party’s electoral fortunes.
Originally intended to consolidate the anti-BJP vote, the alliance has instead triggered a cascade of resignations, including those of former MLAs Neeraj Basoya and Naseeb Singh. These resignations reflect dissatisfaction with both the party’s selection of Lok Sabha candidates and its decision to align with AAP. This internal upheaval, occurring mere weeks before crucial elections, has left the Congress in a state of disarray, raising doubts about the stability and effectiveness of the coalition.
At the heart of this turmoil lies a perceived disregard for the objections raised by local leadership against forming an alliance with a party built on anti-Congress rhetoric. The top-down decision-making approach has not only alienated key party members but has also called into question the party’s commitment to internal democracy and its capacity to engage constructively in coalition politics.
As the Congress grapples with these internal fissures, the future of the AAP-Congress alliance hangs precariously in the balance. It faces the dual possibilities of emerging as a potent political force or collapsing under the weight of its contradictions. The forthcoming days will be pivotal in determining whether the Congress can reconcile its internal differences and galvanise its resources for the impending electoral battle.
— The author, Prof. Sayantan Ghosh (@sayantan_gh), is a political observer and columnist who teaches journalism at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. The views expressed are personal.
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