We are seeing the rise of a very centralised High Command both in the Congress and the BJP. Of course, with the BJP this has been firmly in place for the last seven years, ever since Narendra Modi took office as Prime Minister. Hence the shuffling of Chief Ministers, from Karnataka to Uttarakhand to Gujarat did not raise too many eyebrows. It was also very neatly executed with little dissidence from the state leaders.
The Congress is another story. In fact, this is the party that invented the High Command culture (byline goes to Indira Gandhi). But over the years and especially ever since the 2019 Lok Sabha debacle we have seen the Gandhis losing hold of the party. Earlier party dissidents would whisper their dissent off-the-record; now they are writing letters directly to the High Command and releasing them in the media. Dinners are being organised where the Gandhis are not invited but every other opposition leader is present. What is worse, the loyalists who would usually counter the rebels by affirming loyalty to the High Command are now deserting the party for greener pastures. The word was out— the Gandhis were losing control. Something drastic had to be done.
And, then something drastic was done. The sacking of the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh was not just limited to state politics. The larger message behind the move was to once again place the Congress’ first family back on the throne. The midnight call for a Congress Legislative Party Meeting, the signature campaign that preceded it, Captain Amarinder’s resignation that followed, and the carte blanche to the High Command to choose his successor was all part of a well-choreographed act. The same Captain whose supporters had refused to give Rahul Gandhi the credit for the party’s 2017 win in Punjab was now ‘humiliated’ in public and forced to resign. Earlier there was a narrative that while the Gandhis may rule over the rest of the Congress, the Republic of Punjab was under the Maharaja’s rule with the MLAs owing personal allegiance to him. In one stroke, their allegiance has been transferred back to the High Command as is obvious by the fact that all of them signed a piece of paper authorising Sonia Gandhi to choose their next leader.
Party sources say that this is not Sonia Gandhi but the work of the Gandhi siblings— Rahul and Priyanka, aided and advised by Prashant Kishor. Whatever the source, one thing is clear that there is now a much more ruthless High Command at the Congress. We can argue whether it was a politically shrewd move to replace the Captain with Navjyot Singh Sidhu (he may not be CM but there is no doubt that Sidhu will be the face of the Congress campaign). But the move has sent a tacit message to other state leaders as well, including Ashok Gehlot. The Rajasthan Chief Minister was one of the first to react, when he reached out to the Captain in a very public tweet, asking him not to do anything drastic. He is probably worried that Rajasthan may be the next focus. So far Gehlot has been defying the High Command’s missive to undertake a cabinet expansion and accommodate some of Sachin Pilot’s team. Will he continue this defiance or play ball post Punjab?
It is also interesting to note that not one Congress leader of note has come out in support of the Captain and taken on the High Command for this action. (The exception being Sanjay Jha, who remains a suspended leader— perhaps for this very reason). The message has been delivered and the Gandhis will be back on the Punjab hoardings (until now Captain enjoyed solo space). Now, it is their turn to perform. Because nothing reaffirms power and authority better than an electoral win. Ask Narendra Modi.