A day earlier than his assassination on January 30, 1948 Mahatma Gandhi proposed in his ‘ final will and testomony to dissolve the Congress Get together and exchange it with a Lok Sevak Sangh (folks’s service group.) He mentioned, “Congress in its current form and kind, as a propaganda car and a parliamentary machine, has outlived its use.”
It was not as if the Mahatma needed Congress to die. He acknowledged, “The Congress has received political freedom, however it has but to win financial freedom, social and ethical freedom. These freedoms are tougher than the political.”
These two paragraphs reveal the Gandhian thought in regards to the Congress social gathering’s future. He wouldn’t have visualized the social gathering going through its current existential disaster. However instances have modified, concepts have modified, and the nation has modified since then. New forces have emerged. Congress, too, has undergone many modifications.
A pan-national social gathering like Congress definitely had its ups and downs. The most recent disaster is senior Congress chief Ghulam Nabi Azad leaving the social gathering. He was the Muslim face of Congress. Azad had mentioned in his blunt resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi three days in the past, “Below your stewardship since 2014 and subsequently that of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress has misplaced two Lok Sabha elections in a humiliating method. It has misplaced 39 out of the 49 meeting elections held between 2014 – 2022. The social gathering solely received 4 state elections and was capable of get right into a coalition state of affairs in six cases. Sadly, right this moment, Congress is ruling in solely two states and is a really marginal coalition accomplice in two different states. ” That is what the social gathering is right this moment.
Briefly, the social gathering is at its lowest ebb right this moment in comparison with when Sonia Gandhi entered politics in 1998, introduced the social gathering to energy in 2004, and dominated till 2014. The exit of Azad is greater than a wake-up name as he had been a congressman for greater than 5 many years and had held a number of essential posts, together with the final secretary. PCC president, chief minister, minister on the centre holding numerous portfolios like Well being, Parliamentary affairs, and so on.
Azad has been main the insurgent group of 23 for the previous two years. IN 2022, some senior leaders like Captain Amarendra Singh, Kapil Sibal, Hardik Patel, Ashwini Kumar, Sunil Jhakar, RPN Singh, JaiveerShergill, andKuldeepBishnoi give up the social gathering for greener pastures. Azad shouldn’t be the primary or final to go away Congress. All through the historical past of the Congress, many leaders have snapped ties with the Grand Previous Get together. Indira Gandhi break up the social gathering in 1969 and made a large success. Some, like Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee, and Jagan Mohan Reddy, had succeeded and develop into their respective states’ chief ministers. Others like Jagjivan Ram and Bishnoi of the Haryana Janhit Congress had no impression.
Azad has two options- One is to align with the opposite regional events like Nationwide Convention and PDP. The opposite is to tie- up with the BJP. Most of those that give up Congress earlier joined the BJP. It’s a well-known undeniable fact that the BJP is on the lookout for a powerful chief in Jammu and Kashmir, and Azad suits the invoice. He additionally has a very good equation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Gandhi household has to take duty for the current disaster. The choices are few. Rahul Gandhi ought to give up if he isn’t eager on politics and let another person lead the social gathering. The schedule for electing the brand new president has been introduced, and on September 19, the outcomes will likely be notified. If a non-Gandhi is chosen, they’d solely be a rubber stamp. The household can have the distant management like Sonia Gandhi ran the present with Dr. Manmohan Singh within the driving seat for ten years throughout the UPA authorities. A non-Gandhi social gathering chief would solely be a loyalist.
Secondly, the Congress management ought to abandon the coterie tradition. A number of leaders within the social gathering, like A.Ok. Antony, Digvijay Singh, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Anand Sharma, might be consulted. Thirdly, deal with the considerations of the G 23 insurgent group. It has already been weakened with the various members leaving or being pacified.
Fourthly, the social gathering ought to absolutely think about successful Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the place the Congress nonetheless has some presence. Fifthly, with coalition politics gaining floor Congress ought to discover appropriate allies and work for the opposition’s unity. Sixthly, so long as Rahul shouldn’t be main from the entrance, Congress shouldn’t be adamant in fielding him because the prime Ministerial opposition candidate.
A political revival of the Congress could also be troublesome however not not possible. It nonetheless has a 20 p.c vote share on the nationwide degree. All that’s required is to return to the fundamentals, devise a core technique, rework its plans, and above all, join with the plenty. (IPA Service)
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