Congress must do serious introspection

After every poll debacle, Congress party holds 'Chintan, Manthan' i.e., post-mortem of results and what not. But no concrete measures are taken to strengthen the grand old party which has been getting decimated poll after poll. We have seen how it has failed to perform in the just concluded elections in the five states and how it lost Punjab.

There is no direction, no accountability and crabs in the basket refuse to come out. The party which was in power in 15 states has now rules less than 4 states.

The Congress Working Committee met on Sunday in which the G-23 group also participated. The group was vociferous in demanding that there should be a change in leadership and it should be Gandhi-Mukt Congress. They also pitched for the leadership of Mukul Wasnik as the new president.

They have a point in making such a demand, though the 'Durbaris' who so far had sway over the party affairs will not agree to this because their political existence could be at stake. The fact is these Durbaris with their crabs-in-a-bucket mentality have no vision and no strategy. They will try their best to see that the chorus for reforms in the party gets drowned.

The so-called seniors like Harish Rawat who have become very old and outdated still say that Priyanka had put in all-out efforts, but a deep analysis is required to see why they failed and in-charges should be made responsible. Another senior leader Ashok Gehlot says that the country is moving towards religious frenzy.

Manickam Thakur says Congress is deeply connected to Gandhi family and Sonia is their unquestionable leader, which means she will lead the party in future also. The Durbaris continue to shout slogans of "Rahul ji Sangarsh Karo, Hum tumhare Saath hain."

When once slogans such as "Raja Saab aap Sangarsh Karo Hum Tumhare Saath hain," were raised at his house before V P Singh became the Prime Minister, he said "Are Bhai iska matlab hai ki hum sangarsh karte rahenge aur suli pe chadchayenge aura ap log dekhte rahoge." (Your slogans mean that I alone should struggle and get crucified while you people will keep watching). He told them that instead of becoming such Durbaris, they should go to people and work for the victory of party.

But in this case, there are no signs of Congress party coming out of the Durbari culture as yet. Assembly elections are due in Gujarat towards the end of 2022 and for Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in November-December 2023. BJP has already launched its poll campaign with Modi's road shows. Whatever decision the Congress party takes, it should be immediate. Otherwise, the Chintan and Manthan makes no sense.

The party should understand that if it loses these states, it will not be in power in any state. Even if it wins in both states, it cannot be the fulcrum of the opposition parties or act as a pivot around which anti-BJP forces can rally. If BJP continues with its winning streak, it may continue to dominate the general elections and anti-BJP parties will have to look towards 2029, not 2024.