Monoj Kumar Hazarika
(mkhazarika11@gmail.com)
The appeal by Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi not to make the upcoming Udaipur session of 'Chintansivir' a routine affair and to do much more beyond usual rituals tell a tale of earlier 'chintans'! The situation of the Indian National Congress leadership is best described by their own Kapil Sibal in his interview a couple of months back calling it to be in cloud-cuckoo land. An apt description of the grand old party (however, nothing grand anymore!) is that every 'chintansivir' ends up in the status quo.
Drawing a lighter analogy, a Bollywood sitcom "Khichdi" released a few years back shows a hilarious family which has all 65 members named "Parminder'. An out-and-out entertainer, the family keeps the same name so that nobody has trouble recalling 65 names! Every time a child is born in the family they congregate over a "Chintan" – and end up naming the child "Parminder". The many chintansivirs of the Congress so far bear an uncanny resemblance with the film's 'family', as the party after every election debacle does a chintansivir and ends up hailing the triumvirate of Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka so that Congress members remember only Gandhis as their leaders and ostensibly vow to correct other trivial issues.
Within the Congress coterie and some of its aficionados, the Gandhi-Vadra family is considered to be the glue of the party, supposedly to keep all the regional leaders glued to them. But, over the years they seem to have to lose the prime attribute-its adhesiveness. Unable to keep members and associate partners adherent to it, chaos, turmoil, and exodus continue. Their coterie of sycophants was mostly incompetent lineage from political dynasts or senior politicians who have lost the mass appeal, and don't want disruptions at any level and in any form. Maybe, even the Gandhis understand this, but they can't do much as only for these sycophants, their own family's political relevance is protected. Their leaders and workers across rank and file are abandoning the party, apprehending disaster as the 'family-controlled ship' is heading towards an iceberg of extinction! They're joining different other parties hoping to stay relevant in Indian politics.
But the real point is the deep-rooted 'Trust Deficit' within the party leadership as well as within their ecosystem.
There is no dearth of charismatic capable leaders in the Congress party. But, over the years sinister propaganda of creating a divide between a central leader and a state or regional leader is manifested so that the Gandhi-Vadra clan doesn't face any competition for the prime position. Congress wants to monopolise the central leadership position, continuing on the legacy overlooking individual credibility and capability. Despite repeated failures of Rahul Gandhi as a leader and many political pundits terming him as a dilettante politician who eschews responsibility and is unable to generate confidence and enthusiasm among workers, the party continues to choose him as their leader. The defeat of Congress candidates in many Assembly constituencies where he campaigned is some testimony to this. His ingenuous theatrics inside the parliament like hugging the PM, the childish wink, animated yet unarticulated speeches, absentminded manifestation during important debates, and frequent walkouts haven't gone unnoticed from public view and scrutiny. These peculiarities aren't adding any credibility to him as a parliamentarian despite being a member for eighteen years. Not to mention his numerous and frequent personal foreign trips that draw criticism from both oppositions as well as some of their allies.
In their assertion that Gandhis can keep the flock together, regional leaders exhibit distrust within. This absurd notion which presents dishonesty and suspicion among regional leaders is the "trust deficit" at the leadership level.
The sense of entitlement among long-time politicians, favouring and promoting only their progenies and ignoring truthful young aspiring leaders is creating a rift and inequality among genuine party workers, leading to a steady exodus of party leaders and members. The disgraceful spate of exhaling accusations and counter-allegations among party members is testimony to the clandestine bitterness within the party, thereby creating a 'trust deficit' in the entire party ecosystem. The unceremonious removal of Capt Amarinder Singh as Punjab CM on whimsical grounds, appointing unstable and volatile Navjot S Sidhu as PCC chief, and again asking him to resign after they were snubbed by Punjab voters are clear cases of trust deficit within party ranks.
However, the upcoming 'chintansivir' scheduled later this week in Udaipur is reported to have some atypical agenda.
One family, one ticket is an agenda they are mulling for quite some time now, but couldn't implement so far. It is to be seen if this agendum will apply to the so-called Congress' 'first family' also. Whether they consider Rahul and Priyanka from the same family or throw the logic that Priyanka, after her marriage, belongs to another family, needs clarity. But, the revival of the Congress Parliamentary Board (CPB), a mandatory three-year cooling-off period for office-bearers of the AICC, PCC and DCC after completing their first full-term of 3-4 years and pruning of the jumbo-sized Congress committee panels are a few honest thoughts.
Meanwhile, there were reports that a section in the CWC still feels that beyond chintansivir, the best way to make the Congress comeback is by getting "Rahul Gandhi tour across India by addressing rallies" to "electrify" the Congress members. The recent purportedly shot infamous video clip of him enquiring about the theme and topic before a rally in Telengana has been mocked by their rivals. This might have embarrassed his party workers also, as taunts and trolls of any leader percolate down the rank. Repeated incongruous acts make it difficult for workers to defend, which might lead to a different set of imperceptible trust deficits. Therefore, for the upcoming chintansivir to be different, maybe extraordinary, it's about bringing firm and distinctive revival strategies and transformational reforms to foster 'trust' within the leadership as well as the organization before seeking 'trust' from the present informed electorate.