Congress to blame if India sees political autocracy

The game for mega electoral battle 2024 has begun. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is gearing up for ‘Ab ki baar 400 paar’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is leading the BJP campaign for a hat-trick is already touring the country with greater focus on South to enthuse the party cadre. Why is it that Modi has given the slogan of 400 paar?

The slogan of ‘400 paar,’ according to Modi, is being raised because the country has faith in Modi’s guarantee. He says his rivals have no vision for the development of the country while BJP wants to see India as a fully developed country by 2047 when Bharat would be celebrating the centenary of attaining freedom from the British rule.

But is the issue that simple? Modi 3.0 is a foregone conclusion and that would mean he would equal the record of the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. The question is will it be able to achieve ‘400 paar’ and if so’ what would be its impact on existence of the grand old Congress party? Analysts feel that one of the reasons could be to overshadow the roles of Nehru and Gandhi and claim that India is Bharat which is free from colonised cohorts. Another aim could be to make Congress-Mukt Bharat.

This was the fear that was expressed at the meeting of INDI bloc at Shivaji Stadium in Mumbai last Sunday. Certainly, this cannot be brushed aside. But then if such a political situation is created after the 2024 elections, who is responsible? BJP this time has adopted the policy of ‘friends and enemies’ out of necessity. Despite being powerful at centre, it has started reconciliation with all those who had left the NDA for one reason or the other.

The opposition which has been talking a lot of defeating Modi at the next hustings has failed to evolve a strategy of how to sustain the opposition in the next five years. It has miserably failed in working out an action plan. The Congress party refuses to evolve to suit the changing situation and create a level-playing field between national and regional parties. It also failed to work out new equations with the regional parties. This has created rift between the Nehru-Gandhi Congress and the regional parties and ultimately, they failed to showcase as united a force to take on the Modi-led NDA. The Congress party seems to have felt that having won Karnataka and Telangana polls would be gateway to power at centre. But the gates to it in all northern states got closed. Once general elections are over, one cannot rule out the possibility of political turmoil in these two Congress-ruled states.

BJP has succeeded in branding the Congress and some opposition parties like TMC as those who appease the Muslim minorities. But when the INDI bloc held its meeting at Shivaji stadium the only Muslim face one could see was Farooq Abdullah who has no-pan India presence. In fact, even in J&K he cannot be called as a major force.

Rahul Gandhi has been going on wrongly timed padayatras. They may not help in converting the minority and the dalit votes in favour of Congress and see that Congress does not get further decimated. If the Congress suffers a setback in 2024, it would mean that the country may move a step forward towards political autocracy in a perfect legal manner. One cannot blame the voters or the BJP if this happens. One should blame the Congress which failed to break away from the past legacy and come up with new equations.