The Year 2023 has been a wake up call for the Congress that had begun the year on a positive note, with the high of the Bharat Jodo yatra, a new party chief at the helm and also the win in Himachal Pradesh in 2022. And the year 2023 began well with the party bagging Karnataka; it did seem as if the Congress was on a revival note. However, that was not to be as the results of the recent round of assembly polls have shown. Apart from Telangana the party’s electoral hopes were dashed in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and even Mizoram. Given the fact that the Lok Sabha polls are but a few months away, can the Congress hope for a miraculous quick fix?
Most political analysts would shrug their shoulders and have more or less written off the 2024 polls as a walk over for the BJP. It’s not just the Congress but the entire opposition which lacks a face to counter the Prime Minister. In addition, the opposition lacks a viable narrative to take on the BJP. The Congress played with soft hindutva in the assembly polls but clearly this found few takers. Why go for a copycat when you can vote for the original? The one issue where the Congress – and the opposition – can catch the BJP is the economy. Rahul Gandhi does talk employment and growth once in a while but he needs to be consistent with his narrative. That is the only way it will sell. Other leaders of the INDIA grouping too need to talk the same talk.
Whether the alliance can agree on a seat sharing so close to the polls remains to be seen but at least they can all agree on a common talk and agenda to take to the people. In fact, if the seat sharing is done on a post polls basis then that would lead to a much more harmonious equation for right now all the parties are doing in the meetings is posturing for the larger share. Both Akhilesh Yadav and Mamata Bannerjee have let it be known that they are okay to seat-share provided the seats are shared according to winnability. And we all know where that places the Congress.
Hence the dilemma before the Congress is simple. Does it want to defeat Modi even at the cost of its own voter base? Is it okay to let other regional outfits grow at the expense of the Congress, if that stops the BJP in its tracks? Not easy choices.
However, Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress President has a even tougher task on his hands. He has to also reshuffle the party organisational, weed out the unpopular faces and bring in his own team. Will he be able to axe key members of Team Rahul who are not very popular with the party cadre? Will Kharge be able to bring in his own people, fresh faces who do not carry any baggage. And what about the (still) ongoing turf war between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot. With the state in the BJP’s grasp for the next five years, both are looking for a place at the centre. Whom will the party leadership oblige?
These are key questions that await the Congress as it rings out the old year and rings in the new.