With Sonia Gandhi opting out of the Lok Sabha fray, the optics are firmly on the diminishing returns of the Gandhis. A legacy is as effective as the incumbent. And in this case the incumbent is Rahul Gandhi since Sonia is taking a step back while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is yet to step into the electoral fray. There is some buzz that she could be replacing Sonia as the Congress Candidate from Rae Bareli but somehow, I doubt that. One reason for this is that in the Modi-Yogi era no bastion in Uttar Pradesh is ‘safe’ anymore. Second, the Gandhis themselves seem unclear as to what role Priyanka will play, if any. Don’t forget she remains General Secretary without a portfolio.
The party’s control is now firmly in Rahul’s hands. The old guard that he complained against are now no longer in the driver’s seat. The party president Mallikarjun Kharge is quite happy to defer to Rahul and his Team who enjoy more power than any other party official. Given this the timing of Rahul’s yatra, right on election eve has been criticized, as we are told that he is now planning to cut it short. This would be a good move as he needs to focus on the nitty gritty of winning elections, from candidate selection to the messaging. The hunt for allies is more or less over except in newspaper head-lines since most of the allies have hardened their stand and are unwilling to give too many seats to the Congress in their bastions. Akhilesh Yadav had initially announced 11 seats for the Congress, later he has upped this offer to 17 but its nowhere near the 28 demanded by the Congress. The DMK is not keen to leave even a single seat for the Congress, though the talks haven’t officially begun while the RJD too is expected to play hard ball. Then there are the on again off again vibes from Aam Admi party that wants to link seat sharing in Delhi to Gujarat & Haryana, while its not ready to do business with the Congress in Punjab.
The irony is that party needs Sonia now more than ever. If there is one Gandhi who is still respected by the allies and can enthuse the party workers it is Sonia. Her connect goes beyond the old guard to the new recruits. Even if her health does not permit her to campaign extensively she can play a crucial role in reaching out to the party faithful and the workers.
Even administratively, Sonia can be the bridge between the Congress President’s Office and Team Rahul. Although there are no visible cracks, there is also no handover that has happened. However given the unpopularity of some of Rahul’s key aides, Kharge’s Team needs a free-er hand. There is a reason why the Gandhis opted for Kharge as the party chief, he must now be allowed to do his job. but with Rahul by his side to ensure a smooth implementation of his decisions. The Congress does not have the bandwidth or the time for camp politics !
What doesn’t help is the visuals of party leaders quitting the Congress on a daily basis. The narrative has to be changed even if the exodus cannot be stemmed. The crisis can be converted to an opportunity to promote new faces with a new zeal and a new message. The message has to be on point and not some vague esoteric goal. This is the instagram generation whose attention span does not last beyond a few seconds.
In other words, for the Congress to get its house in order, it needs Kharge, Sonia and Rahul to be on board. This should be the troika the party should take to 2024.