Congress finally has a full-time president in Mallikarjun Kharge. Last week, he became the Grand Old Party’s first non-Gandhi president in 24 years, defeating Shashi Tharoor. Kharge won 7,897 of the 9,385 valid votes polled by delegates, while Tharoor was backed by 1,072 delegates. A total of 416 votes were declared invalid.
As president, Kharge has his work cut out for him. The new non-Gandhi chief, though a seasoned party stalwart, will have an arduous task ahead. Reviving the fortunes of the Congress is no easy task, especially given the vice-like grip the Bharatiya Janata Party has over the Indian electorate. He has to revive a party that is losing ground rapidly, prevent it from ceding ground to other regional parties, and most importantly, create a roadmap for the future of the party.
One of the biggest challenges before Kharge is to galvanise the party organisation. The Congress has been called a ‘sinking ship’ over the years and many leaders like RPN Singh, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Tom Vadakkan, Jitin Prasada, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, and SM Krishna, among others, have quit the party citing various reasons. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, there has been a steady stream of grassroots workers who have left the Congress. The leadership has failed to inspire the party cadres, and as a result, the party does not have enough workers in many States across the country. Kharge has a tough job to act as a unifying factor for the party. He has to rebuild the party from the grassroots, and if he is able to get that done, then the party has a good chance to do well in the upcoming State elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the 2024 General Elections.
Two, the party faces ideological challenges. The grand old party which once positioned itself as a secular party appears to be ideologically directionless at the moment. In an effort to counter the BJP, former party chief Rahul Gandhi had embarked on temple runs across many States and switched to ‘soft Hindutva’ to remain relevant. It also forged an alliance with the Shiv Sena, a right-wing entity. All this has meant that the Congress has failed to design a new grammar of secular nationalism to coherently demonstrate how the BJP’s divisive politics can hurt the national interest. As party president, Kharge has to find an ideological spot for the party to counter the BJP, even as it maintains the support of its core voter base. A more consistent and effective ideological position is the need of the hour.
Three, Kharge has to prepare a blueprint for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. After a massive drubbing in both the 2014 and 2019 general elections, Congress will be hoping for a larger seat share in 2024. As party president, Kharge will have to take tough calls on joining alliances in a way that benefits the party. Bharat Jodo Yatra is a good step, but it shouldn’t be reduced to a political gimmick. The upcoming assembly elections will be a great litmus test for Congress. Kharge should consider it as a kind of benchmark and step up the preparedness for the big polls. He has to lead from the front and give a push to a fresh strategy that resonates with the workers. He has to catch the electorate’s attention with innovative plans to counter the BJP.
Four, Kharge has to bridge the generational divide between the old guard and the new guard. Maintaining a fine balance between young leaders and the old guard is another challenge for the veteran politician. He has promised to implement the ‘Udaipur Declaration’ in letter and spirit. One of the proposals envisaged in it is to reserve 50 percent of party posts for those below 50 years of age. Similarly, he has also pledged to allot 50 per cent of seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to those below 50 years of age as per the recommendations adopted at the ‘Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session)’ in Rajasthan in May. Kharge also has to work out a balance in Rajasthan, where Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his rival Sachin Pilot are locked in a tussle for power.
Lastly, Kharge has to implement a robust consultative mechanism to make decisions-making it more democratic. The most common refrain from leaders who have left the party fold is about lack of access to the leadership and lack of a platform to articulate views on decisions. This is an important issue that Kharge has to address. The new party chief has to start empowering and restructuring the PCCs or the State units. At the same time, with all the members of the Gandhi family being politically active, he has to make sure that multiple power centres are not created in the party. Importantly, before he begins engaging other opposition parties, he has to secure the co-operation of the members of the so-called G-23 members.
In conclusion, Kharge has the toughest job at hand. His challenges are first to galvanise the party organisation. He also needs to delineate what the party stands for in ideological terms. Lastly, his other challenge is to prepare a blueprint for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. Congress has so far failed to do this. Can Kharge turn around the Congress’ fortunes? Only time will tell.
