Picking up the pieces
As it nears its 128th anniversary on December 28, the Congress seems to be altering course with a generational transition, albeit within the dynasty. Last week Sonia Gandhi handed the stage to Rahul during the passage of the Lokpal bill, in a bid to make it appear that he is finally getting ready to lead from the front. Though accolades flowed from Anna Hazare, Rahul has been anything but convincing as the crown prince of the Congress.
While the prime ministership was thrust onto Rajiv Gandhi, also an amateur in politics when he stepped in after his mother’s assassination, Rahul has had a prolonged baptism ever since Sonia took over the reins of the party and embarrassed the NDA by ousting it from office in 2004 even though the Congress was on a very weak wicket, just as it is today.
The transition marks a crucial phase for the Congress, for on it hinges its immediate and future prospects. With a charged up Narendra Modi breathing down its back and the political upstart Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Admi Party eating into the grand old party’s votes, the immediate future appears pretty bleak for the Congress at this juncture.
Rahul’s Lok Sabha speech seemed unconvincing to many, given his restrained style and lack of flair, certainly a great disadvantage for a leader who is meant to inspire the Congress in the battle for Lok Sabha 2014. No doubt the young Gandhi’s rooting for the passage of the four other pending bills was intended to present a complete package to downscale corruption. But important legislations alone will not take the Congress over the line. Rahul will have to overcome the stiff leadership style that has become his mother’s trademark as well as his own reserve and media distance if he means to make himself more acceptable. He has few press conferences and has given even fewer TV interviews.
His reluctance to accept a Cabinet berth and outshine younger leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and Milind Deora has not helped bolster the perception that he is capable of becoming the new generation leader. Rahul will soon find that in the murky school of politics, being young alone will not inspire hope and confidence. He has to reinvent the party’s inner feudal culture, do away with the coteries, corruption, and above all the party’s disconnect from the aam admi, which brought on the rout in the four states.
Closer home, the elevation of John Fernandes has come as a shot out of the blue. Detached from local politics and a faithful soldier of the party, Fernandes was ‘our man in Delhi’ during the Rajiv era. In his first press conference, he has been sharp and forthright in his criticism as leader of a party in the Opposition. Part of the Congress’ endemic failure has been its inability to come down on those like Babush Monserrate, Churchill Alemao and Mauvin Godinho for hobnobbing with the BJP and Manohar Parrikar behind the scenes. The party’s credibility was further eroded with skeletons tumbling out of Digambar Kamat’s cupboard and the decision of the BJP to retain Pratapsingh Rane as speaker in its previous term.
Will John Fernandes be able to take on the local Congress ‘heavyweights’ who have consistently abused the party and decimated it to its single digit performance for the first time since its debut in 1980? Being a Congress loyalist will not buttress the new PCC president’s cause in any way. It will take crafty intelligence, a strong think tank, daring initiative and a lot of political strategizing to get the Congress back in shape to fight the 2014 elections. And this will only be the beginning.
