The Congress Working Committee on Friday may have had a four and a half hour long meeting, but issues which have been holding the party back, continue to remain. Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge was harsh on State leaders and wanted to know till when would they remain dependent on the national leadership. There were many other points that were raised by him. However, the entire exercise and the speeches on the occasion were nothing more than performa action, since nothing can change in the party, unless the High Command becomes conscious of the ground realities, and goes in for a complete overhaul. What Kharge needs to understand is that a “Kamaraj type plan’’ was needed for the resuscitation of the party and the entire office bearers of the AICC including those of the CWC and other bodies need to resign immediately, allowing the High Command to re-structure the organization. The weak link in the party is its organization and in order to take on the BJP, head on, greater emphasis needs to be laid on revamping the party. Kharge has been functioning under many limitations, but he should have been aware that there were almost 90 functionaries who attended the crucial CWC meeting to go into the defeat of the party in both Haryana and Maharashtra, but the State presidents and CLP leaders of the two provinces, who could have provided some insights were not amongst the invitees. Therefore, one needs to ask as to what kind of exercise was being carried out when leaders who should have been held accountable were amongst the attendees and those who worked on the ground were absent.
The problem with the Congress is not so much with its State leadership, which still has mass leaders, but with the High Command, which needs to prove itself at some time on the national level and in a Parliamentary election. If the Congress has been outsmarted by the BJP in the last three Lok Sabha polls, it is largely because the mass connect of its central leadership is inadequate. In Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh where it won the Assembly elections, it was because of the regional leadership represented by Siddaramaiah, Revanth Reddy and Sukwinder Singh Suku respectively. In the entire North India, the only mass leader, the party has at present is Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who unfortunately ended up on the losing side, despite the fact that in Haryana alone, the Congress has managed to increase its voting percentage manifolds since 2019, a feat not accomplished anywhere else.
The reason for the BJP doing so well is because it is in places where the Saffron Brigade is pitted directly against the Congress, it has a very high scoring rate nationally. Even in Maharashtra, the BJP’s impressive tally is because the Congress collapsed, either because of wrong selection of nominees, or on account of flawed surveys or due to the lack of organizational structure. Kharge has referred to State leaders dependance on National leadership but forgot to mention why no restraint was used on those who were openly giving interviews to hostile channels when the Haryana poll was on and virtually acting as BJP’s sleeper cells despite holding positions in the AICC. This practice of encouraging some state leaders to unnecessarily create obstacles before those with potential, has to stop. These obstructionists have the patronage of key party functionaries and that is the reason why they indulge in negative activity. The High Command is also slow in taking decisions and this has to change. Why has there been no announcement regarding the CLP leader in Haryana when the results were declared almost two months ago. Who is to blame for this?
The policy of functioning through factions may have worked during Indira Gandhi’s tenure because she was a very tall leader with huge mass connect and could afford this kind of politics. Times have changed and so has the party. The AICC has so many office bearers, many of whom, it is often stated in a lighter vein, do not even recognize each other. Where is the need to have such a top heavy party structure with non-performing or under-performing office-bearers. The same goes for the CWC and the Election Committee which continue to be run because of patronage and not due to the ability of members. The Congress needs younger and more effective people to be entrusted with responsibility while ensuring that those amongst the seniors who matter, continue to be accorded respect and status. Kharge has been functioning as the party Chief for quite some time now, but needs to also answer why he has not been able to appoint a political secretary who can give him a better overview of politics, particularly of North India. Why is it that overriding powers are enjoyed by some like KC Venugopal and a handful of left oriented advisers, who are unable to understand the ideology and history of the Congress.
Why are not those who have fought elections and won and have ample experience entrusted with the task of handling the communication department. And why is the party reluctant to constitute the Parliamentary Board, which would then be the supreme body to take the final decisions. There has to be room for changing the way the Congress has been functioning and the old models of working need to have a re-look since the time has changed and also the personalities. The Congress has to review its strategies and involve those who understand ground politics, and not foist leaders, as general secretaries in-charge, who do not understand the dynamics of those places. The Kamaraj type plan is the only alternative at present.
