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50 years apart, Indira’s lessons for Rahul Gandhi | Opinion

ByShashi Shekhar
Mar 16, 2020 07:53 PM IST

In 1969, she led and defeated the party’s old guard. In 2020, Rahul retreated, giving the veterans an edge

The two major political parties in India seem locked in a war. From appropriating each other’s voters, they are now engaged in poaching the best from each other’s camps. The shift of Jyotiraditya Scindia from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is an example.

The BJP and its allies, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, won the 2019 general election with a thumping majority. But the trends after this victory have not been positive. The BJP began slipping in assembly elections, the latest example being Delhi. Meanwhile, an old ally, the Shiv Sena, parted ways with the BJP. Uddhav Thackeray joined hands with earlier rivals, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, depriving the BJP of the opportunity to form the government in the crucial state of Maharashtra. This scenario came as a shock to many, and took the sheen off the BJP’s glorious victory in May 2019.Meanwhile, the Indian economy slowed down, thanks to national and international factors. This, too, added to the challenges for the government.

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But undeterred by all this, the government went ahead and nullified Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and even succeeded in passing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or the CAA. Amid all this, the Supreme Court passed an order on building the Ram temple, which worked in favour of those who wanted the temple. All these elements, taken together, created an environment of communal tension across the country. Street protests erupted. In Delhi, during President Donald Trump’s visit, riots broke out.

The government needed to salvage its image. The message that the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah combine was still invincible needed to be conveyed.

One of the most fascinating personalities in the Congress, Jyotiraditya Scindia, joining the BJP seems to fulfil all these requirements. Scindia is a leader who has a mass base and credibility. As soon as he joined the BJP, 22 Congress Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) rebelled, including almost half-a-dozen state ministers. Chief minister Kamal Nath, who has a reputation of being able to manage adverse circumstances, has been trying hard, with his ally, Digvijaya Singh, to save his government. Whether the Madhya Pradesh government will remain or fall, only time will tell. But one thing is certain. The reputation of the government in Bhopal has eroded, and governments run on the basis of their reputation and credibility.

It will not be surprising if other Congress leaders, and young leaders from different parties, gravitate towards the BJP in the coming days.

One reason for this is the fact that veterans in India’s grand old party are still clinging to power or aspiring to hold positions of power. On the day that a massive crowd gathered in Bhopal to welcome Scindia, the former chief minister of Haryana, Bhupinder Hooda, was pressuring the party leadership that instead of Selja Kumari, the party should give his son the Rajya Sabha ticket. Selja is well-educated and belongs to a Dalit family. The Congress doesn’t have many Dalit leaders. Yet, Hooda succeeded. During the last Lok Sabha elections, rumours were rife that Jitin Prasada in Uttar Pradesh might soon be joining the BJP. Milind Deora in Maharashtra and Navjot Singh Sidhu in Punjab too are perceived to be deeply dissatisfied in the party. This is not to suggest that these leaders are also about to join the BJP, but after Scindia’s departure from the Congress, this has assumed renewed urgency. The party will have to pay attention to the dissatisfaction within its ranks. The fact that five Congress MLAs in Gujarat have resigned over the past two days, ahead of the crucial Rajya Sabha elections in the state, shows the depth of the dissatisfaction and the ability of the BJP to leverage this to its advantage.

Is the Congress in the right frame of mind to tackle the discontent? The wheels of time seems to have turned backwards. In 1967, when young leaders were getting organised under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, the Congress fell victim to a division. Stalwarts like Morarji Desai, Nijalingappa, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, KKamraj were in the Congress (Organisation). And against it was the Congress (Requisitionists), led by Gandhi, which eventually became the Congress (Indira). The new Congress humbled the old stalwarts.

At that time, Indira Gandhi was 52-years-old. Today, Rahul Gandhi is 49. Instead of confronting the situation, Rahul Gandhi withdrew after the 2019 Lok Sabha election debacle despite the fact that his party was in power in six states/Union Territories (Punjab, Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, and at that point, Karnataka), and more than 120 million people voted for the Congress. As a result of his retreat, the duel between the old guard and the new within the Congress grew rapidly in which the former became powerful. The exact opposite should have happened.

On the other hand, the BJP is determined to bring its most bitter rivals into its fold by being flexible. This will not only improve the party’s image but also lead to the rise of a new crop of young leaders in the party. The Congress seems unable to retain its most reliable and loyal leaders. This is the time for the Congress high command to rethink its policies and functioning. But will it be able to grasp the gravity of the situation and reverse the tide?

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