End of the road for Congress?

This refers to the news report, "Cong may lose Leader of Opp status in RS", (The Hans India, Mar 12). As the Congress' political imprint in the country shrunk to its lowest with a dismal showing in five states, the opposition party appeared to be staring at a loss of national relevance. A dominant force in the country's politics for decades, the grand old party's free fall continued as it lost Punjab to AAP and finished with just two seats out of 403 in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. The party also lost in Uttarakhand and Manipur.

The electoral fortunes of the Congress had taken a downturn in the last round of elections in five states, when it failed to make a mark in the assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and managed a minor consolation as a partner in the Dravida Munnetra Kazagham-led alliance in Tamil Nadu.

After the drastic decline in its tally in general elections, it is now left in power only in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and is a very small player in the coalition governments in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. Change or it will be the endgame' - was the common refrain from many party veterans on Thursday.

The party's poor performance is bound to pose a serious challenge to Rahul Gandhi's leadership, as he and his sister and AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were the only star campaigners seen in this round of assembly polls. The duo was ostensibly also responsible for the dramatic decisions in Punjab including the humiliating ouster of then chief minister Amarinder Singh days before elections and the projection of Dalit leader Charanjit Singh Channi as the CM face that appears to have alienated Punjab's politically dominant Jat Sikhs in favour of the AAP.

The strategy of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also be questioned including the fielding of some controversial candidates in the UP, as the Congress posted the worst show ever despite a high-pitch campaign that she led. Apart from the internal challenges, the defeat of the Congress today is also set to shake its position as the principal opposition party. It is finally time to "write it off" as it does not hold any future. Also, it is time to write the party's epitaph as it is on its "last leg" and the present leadership is unable to enthuse the cadres at the grassroots.

N Sadhasiva Reddy, Bengaluru

II

The 'grand old party' seems on its way to the dustbin of history. Defeat after defeat in general elections and state assembly elections fail to impress upon the bigwigs of the party (read the Nehru-Gandhi family) to introspect as to why the party is no more the darling of the masses. The just concluded elections to five state assemblies too handed out a severe drubbing to the party. Understandably, some of the disillusioned and frustrated old-timers constituting the G23 group has red flagged the Nehru-Gandhi family, who refuse to let go of their monopoly over the party.

The family must realize that it lacks leaders like Indira Gandhi and Panditji who had mass following and connect with grassroots workers. Their modern-day progeny lacks imagination, mass following and skills to pull the party out of extinction that starts at its face. It is time the Congress did an aggressive surgery to remove the cancer of living in the past glory by disconnecting the umbilical cord with the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Dr George Jacob, Kochi