It’s the end of the year and a time for stock taking. Politically speaking this is the year where the Congress Party attempted yet another reinvention holding inner party elections that saw the elevation of Mallikarjun Kharge as the party president. Rahul Gandhi too embarked on another rediscovery of himself with the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the success of which surprised most of his critics as well as his supporters. The young Gandhi seems to have successfully lost the Pappu tag which his detractors had foisted on him. But what he does with this new found gravitas is another story as the yatra is still to pay electoral dividends. Then again its early days for we are mid-yatra but clearly Rahul is enjoying the adulation (surely not all can be choreographed?) and seems determined to finish his walkathon.
The BJP, in the meanwhile, is staying at status quo with the PM hogging the top slot. Eight years into his Prime Ministership, Narendra Modi remains unchallenged especially after his party swept the Gujarat polls. Losing or even a dent in his home state would have raised question marks about his ability to lead. The sweeping mandate has merely served to reinforce the obvious.
However, the recent round of polls did throw up an interesting challenger in the form of Arvind Kejriwal who did not usurp the place of the principal opposition party in Gujarat but his campaign dominated the headlines much more than the Congress one and he has bagged a sizeable share of the vote share to live another day. Clearly if Rahul Gandhi does not get his political narrative in place, then it is Kejriwal who will dominate the headlines in any fight against Modi.
And while no one is predicting the rise of AAP in time for the 2024 polls, Kejriwal knows well how to plan ahead. In fact his politics of disruption will find takers amongst those unhappy with the BJP much more than the Congress brand of work-in progress.
The year also saw India assume the Presidency of the G20 amidst heightened tensions with China at the Arunachal border. This along with the economy will be the biggest challenge for the Prime Minister in 2023. While few doubt that the BJP will return to power in 2024, there is a real concern about the jobless growth and the aggressive encroachment at our borders. The BJP also needs to build a second rung of leadership, while the Congress needs to get its first rung in place. All in all the stage is set for a politically feisty 2023.