The ongoing drama in the Congress after the drubbing in the general election busts several myths about the party. The most important of them is this: that the Gandhi family was in absolute charge of the Grand Old Party as is generally assumed.
In fact, in a party full of coteries and cliques, it is controlled by self-serving groups who are canny enough to impose their will on the leadership.
This was amply evident when party president Rahul Gandhi rued at the Congress Working Committee meeting that he was virtually arm-twisted into clearing tickets for the sons of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
According to reports emanating from that meet, party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi made it unambiguous that those responsible for the defeat were present in the room.
They, she implied in her admonishment to party leaders, dumped the burden of fighting prime minister Narendra Modi entirely on the shoulders of Rahul and were largely disinterested in taking the battle to the rival camp.
Those who promoted their sons were so engrossed in single constituencies that they lost sight of the party’s need to consolidate the Congress’ gains in the just-concluded Assembly elections and convert them into Parliamentary seats.
There is a long history to the power of the clique in the Congress. But let’s stop at 2014. After the humiliating defeat of the Congress in that election, it was obvious that a revamp of the organisational structure of the party was a dire necessity. The party had lost its connect with the masses and had to revive its frontal organisations to expand its grassroots reach.
Also, the deadwood in the party, senior leaders who brought no productivity to the table, had to make way for fresh blood. Rahul Gandhi even had a blueprint for restructuring the party.
It soon hit the wall of party veterans who, fearing loss of perks and privilges of their charmed circle, united to mount a stiff opposition. The plan was soon enough relegated to the garbage bin and the Congress went into 2019 with the same rag-tag army of non-performers and spent forces.
Now, the big question: Is there a command and control structure in the Congress? If there is one, who is in command and who exercises the levers of control? The truth is there is no such structure in the party. The Gandhis, despite being treated as supreme leaders, are hardly in control of matters critical to the party. Contrast this with the BJP, where there is total clarity on who’s in command. The duo of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah could dump leaders, even seniors like L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, at will and still face no backlash.
The intriguing part in the Congress’s functioning is the lack of accountability. Senior leaders in charge of states can make poor choices and leave the state units in disarray, leading to electoral defeats, but there would be still no questions asked about their performance. In fact, they would be rewarded with more important assignments. The well-networked cliques within would ensure that poor performers stay around, causing the party more harm.
Why are the Gandhis so forgiving of incompetent people? The only answer to this can be that they are hardly aware that they are being taken for a ride by people they implicitly trust, or they are indifferent about the state of the party, too happy to let it be run by others. It can be both. Another answer could be that they are actually powerless against the strength of the crowd of schemers and manipulators. All this makes them pathetic leaders.
It is surprising that when they are held responsible for the party’s success or the lack of it, they demand no such responsibility from others. It is the family that gets humiliated in public, election after election, but the real culprits are allowed to go scot free.
Unless they are able to wrest full control of the party and deliver the results, there is little point of them being around. They should quit the Congress and leave it to its fate. Indian polity would find other ways to fill the vacuum.
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