Congress’ chintan shivir does little to bring ideological clarity

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After three days of exhaustive deliberations, the Congress’ Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir at Udaipur drew up a detailed roadmap to re-establish its connect with the people, and also to revive the party to make it battle-ready for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The final declaration adopted on May 15 delineated the Congress position on a host of issues including organisational reforms, social justice, and economy. However, it maintained a studied silence on the vital issue of how it plans to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s ongoing project of polarisation even though Congress President Sonia Gandhi lashed out at the Narendra Modi government for fanning communal tensions in her opening remarks.

The meeting also failed to fix accountability for the electoral losses suffered by the Congress over the past eight years, and, more importantly, it decided not to address the prevailing uncertainty on the leadership issue on the plea that the process for the year-end election of the party President has already been set in motion. What this effectively means is that Sonia Gandhi will continue as Congress President while Rahul Gandhi will be the backseat driver, calling the shots but without shouldering any responsibility.

No Ideological Clarity

Organised after considerable prodding from demoralised and frustrated Congress members, it was widely expected that the chintan shivir will provide greater clarity on the ideological front by spelling out the party’s response to the BJP’s aggressive brand of Hindutva which has captured the imagination of the people.

Instead of addressing this matter upfront, the Congress merely reaffirmed its commitment to pluralism as espoused by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The party’s political resolution contained no overt reference to Hindutva. It stopped at condemning the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP’s violent and divisive agenda, while underlining that the Congress is opposed to garnering votes in the name of caste and religion.

The Religion Card

Though the final Congress resolution did not go beyond mere condemnation, the internal discussion in the group on political issues had witnessed a heated DEBATE on the party’s response to playing the religion card. There was a clear divide on the matter as several delegates, including former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Karnataka legislative council member BK Hariprasad, and Kerala MP TN Prathapan disagreed with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel who advocated greater participation in religious festivities by Congress leaders to dispel the public perception that the party is anti-Hindu. His formulation was endorsed by leaders from the Hindi heartland states, but there were others who disagreed on the ground that the Congress should not emulate the BJP, but adopt a different path to send out its message of tolerance.

‘Real’ Nationalism

While steering clear of the sensitive issue of religion, the Congress decided to position itself as the real nationalist party vis-à-vis what it described as “pseudo -nationalists” by underlining its role in India’s freedom struggle, the contributions made by its leaders through the years to the country’s development, their battle for national security, the wars won during the party’s regimes, and the sacrifices made by its leaders.

Reflecting the broad consensus in the closed door discussions, the final declaration underlined that “Indian nationalism defines the Congress while the BJP’s pseudo nationalism is only a means to win elections and grab power.” It is perhaps in line with this argument that the Congress decided to launch a country-wide ‘Bharat Jodo’ campaign from October 2.

With Rahul Gandhi admitting that the Congress has lost connection with the people, this ambitious padyatra is aimed at reaching out to the people, and reminding them about the Congress’ past achievements. The big question is whether Rahul Gandhi is ready to take on this arduous task which requires him to take a leaf from Indira Gandhi's book and hit the ground running without any holiday breaks.

Credibility And Messaging

However, if the party is to achieve even a modicum of success in this grand plan, it has to first regain its credibility which is currently in a shambles. It should do so by going beyond history, and BJP-bashing. The party must necessarily spell out what it has to offer to the people, and communicate this effectively for which it needs powerful Hindi-speaking leaders with proven oratorical skills. While it is an acknowledged fact that Rahul Gandhi’s track record in this regard has been unimpressive, the party’s messaging too has not found any resonance with the people.

Instead of coming up with abstract references like “the idea of India” or its call for “nyay” in the 2019 election campaign, Congress communication experts and strategists think of concrete and direct messages which impact people’s daily lives, and appeal to the lowest common denominator. The Congress should delve into its past and recall how Indira Gandhi took the country by storm with the slogan “garibi hatao”, as also the success of the 2004 slogan “Congress ka haath, aam aadmi ke saath”.

Though there have been a few instances over the past eight years when the Congress succeeded in pushing the Union government on the back foot — like the “suit boot ki sarkar” jibe — in most instances it is no match to the BJP’s superior messaging, and effective use of social media.

Anita Katyal is a senior journalist.

Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.