Politics | Will Rahul Gandhi’s resignation resuscitate the Congress?

Finally! Finally, 42 days after the Congress was trounced in the general elections, the party President Rahul Gandhi has officially resigned. In a tweet, Gandhi shared his four-page resignation letter, where he took responsibility for the poll debacle.

Gandhi’s resignation is the first — and a positive — step the party has taken in more than a month’s time. At this juncture, three things need to be looked into: One, the contents of his resignation letter; two, what next for the Congress; and, where does the Congress stand vis-à-vis the BJP.

Look inside

First, the takeaways from Gandhi’s resignation letter. It puts a context to his decision, and elaborates on what he perceives as threats the party and the nation are facing. Gandhi cites “accountability” as the primary reason for his decision and says that it “is critical for the future growth of our party”.

Gandhi succinctly highlights the political differences he has with the BJP and why he feels it is important to continue his fight. At one point he talks about how he felt alone in his fight against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and “institutions they have captured” — this could either be aimed at the other parties that refused to join cause with Gandhi or at Congress leaders itself. He talks about the need for India to unite and reclaim the independence of institutions, and that the Congress should be that instrument of resuscitation.

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Rather than focusing on the ‘threats’ from outside, Gandhi could have detailed the problems within the party. That he seems to have reduced to a line where he says that more leaders need to be held accountable for the poll debacle.

No takers for the job?

This brings us to the second point: what next after Gandhi’s resignation?

Ever since he expressed his intent to resign, the Congress has been indulging in farcical theatre. The party went on a one-month self-imposed media silence — which many senior Congress leaders did not care to observe. What it achieved from this sabbatical is still a mystery. All this while senior leaders have been at pains to explain that there is no problem in the party. On June 26, Youth Congress members held a demonstration outside Gandhi’s house urging him to remain party President! Instead of electing a new leader and getting back to business, the party was keen on indulging in histrionics that went out of fashion along with bell bottom pants. This shows that a section (perhaps a large one) is not ready to accept anyone other than a Gandhi as their leader. This could be a problem for the party in the days ahead.

Now the party will have to choose a leader, but going by the month-long dilemma, it would appear that there is no leader capable enough to replace Gandhi. This is a peculiar leadership crisis. In the past the Congress has had leadership issues, but that was because there were more than one contenders for the top post. Today there are none who want that job! It talks volumes about the current state of the party, about the quality of leaders in the party and of how bad are the prospects of the party.

A thorny crown

Whoever becomes the next President of the party will have to wear a thorny crown and will have a cup of woes that is overflowing.

In many states Congress’ local units exist only on paper. In many states the local leadership is non-existent, and in the ones in which it is strong, the state leadership does not share good ties with the high command — a prime example being Punjab.

With elections to important states around the corner, the new chief will have to hit the road running. Even if a chief is elected (or appointed), it is highly unlikely that he/she will be given a free hand to run the party. Such efficiency and regimental discipline is unheard of in the Congress.

All these show that there is something rotten in the Congress, and no one is able to pinpoint where that rot is. Now that Gandhi has resigned, will it revive the Congress; will the high command culture continue; will Congress finally decouple the party from the Gandhi family; and if it does, will it survive? The questions are many, and the answers are nowhere in sight.

To adapt a popular phrase: If anyone in the Congress is seeing light at the end of this tunnel, it’s that from an oncoming train.

Existential crisis

On one side while the Congress was coming to terms with reality, on the other side the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has not taken its foot off the pedal. This is the third point to look into.

While the BJP, which won the elections in a resounding manner, has not stopped to soak in the applause, the Congress is yet to gather itself and realise what has hit it. The hard reality is that if the Congress is planning to catch up with the BJP anytime in the near future, it should have started yesterday!

While one national party is facing an existential crisis, the other, the BJP, is going from strength to strength. It has appointed a working President who is expected to take over from party President and Union home minister Amit Shah; the BJP has started enrolment drives to increase its footprint; and, it appears more than prepared for the upcoming state polls.

As the Congress stares at an uncertain future, the BJP is assuming gargantuan proportions and catching up will soon become a pipe dream. The Congress is running out of time and soon needs to find a key to its problems. For now that key appears to be lost somewhere in Augeas’ stable.

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