Politics | What will it take for Congress and Rahul Gandhi to decide?

Anand Kochukudy

Gwalior royal Jyotiraditya Scindia’s parting ways with the Congress and joining the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), on March 11, has been generally dubbed as an ambitious move by a restless politician. However, it wouldn’t be wrong to conclude that Scindia’s quitting was as much facilitated by the Congress leadership, as the BJP’s interest in having the promising politician in their ranks. In fact, Scindia’s departure may not be the last of the flights taken by the Young Turks from the grand old party.

The root cause for the current state of affairs within the Congress has been the leadership vacuum at the top. After Rahul Gandhi quit as party president following the Congress’ drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party has been a rudderless ship led by an ailing Sonia Gandhi as an interim arrangement.

The fact that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) re-nominated Sonia Gandhi as president despite Rahul Gandhi’s insistence that a non-Gandhi be considered illustrates the kind of institutional durbari culture, with many a fawning loyalists more loyal than the king, dictating the decision-making process. While Sonia Gandhi is keeping the seat warm for Rahul Gandhi to takeover at some point, the knives are out in the party for anyone seen as a threat for that eventual outcome.

No wonder then that the likes of Scindias, Pilots and even the much older Shashi Tharoor are regularly cut to size when they are in line for higher honours. So, if Scindia felt suffocated enough in the party to switch over to the BJP, the Congress durbaris and the ‘old guard’ too need to share the blame. It seems the idea is to annihilate anyone seen promising enough to challenge Rahul Gandhi for leadership so that he can be thrust back on the party for want of a choice.

Rahul Gandhi too should take the blame for the way he did nothing to stop Scindia from leaving. Not long ago, Gandhi and Scindia would be seated together in Lok Sabha, and a strong partnership similar to the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah combination was often envisaged by political observers. Instead, unlike his late father Rajiv Gandhi who managed to get fellow Doscos (term used for Doon school alumni) from various walks of life to join him in politics, his son didn’t consider it important enough to stop a fellow Stephanian and close associate from quitting.

Maybe it is time for Rahul Gandhi to ask himself what he brings to the party on his own. While Rajiv Gandhi got an entire generation of youth to vote for the Congress, his son has been living off the legacy of his illustrious predecessors, let alone adding any constituency to his party’s shrinking vote-bank.

Whether the exit of Scindia can result in an exodus of fellow young leaders from the Congress remains to be seen. The crestfallen responses from the likes of Sachin Pilot, Kuldeep Bishnoi and others portend more such exits if the state of inertia is to persist. However, the important question is, who will bell the cat? The Gandhi sycophants who control the party seem in no mood to let things change. As for Rahul Gandhi, he seems disinclined as ever to wrest control.

Despite all the ‘status quo-ist’ charges often levelled at Sonia Gandhi during her two decade-long term as president, she was much more nimble-footed when it came to such issues. Long-term loyalist Natwar Singh writes in his autobiography ‘One Life is not enough’ how Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi paid him a surprise visit one day to prevent him from airing secrets in public. In comparison, Rahul Gandhi has been a bystander.

Worse, Rahul Gandhi is singularly responsible for the dire straits the party finds itself in. His presence in the party, even in his present undefined role, has only had a damaging effect on the party as it remains as rudderless as the reluctant leader.

Many years ago, when people sought counsel from a senior journalist with familial ties with the Congress about Rahul Gandhi’s prospects as Prime Minister, the journalist would often say that Rahul Gandhi has age on his side. Perhaps he forgot that you got to stay in the battle and fight long enough, than abandon troops and flee at the first opportunity, for that to materialise.

Sometime ago, Sonia Gandhi gave an interview where she revealed how she was moved to take the leadership of the party in the late nineties as she felt responsible for its prospects. Talking about responsibility, Rahul Gandhi has to come out of his present Hamlet-esque mode and take a decision—for himself, and, more importantly, for the Congress’ future.

Anand Kochukudy is a political commentator and editor, The Kochi Post. Views are personal.