Congress's need for rebirth necessitates its demise, argues Pavan K. Varma in this piece.
The Indian National Congress, once a dominant force in the country's political landscape, finds itself in a challenging position. The party has struggled in key states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, and has never won power on its own since 1984.
This electoral decline has led to further demoralisation and demotivation among party workers, resulting in an increase in desertions of leaders. The continuous erosion of the Congress has also hindered its ability to play a significant role as an anchor for the larger Opposition.
The party's internal dynamics have asphyxiated the scope for fixing accountability, and the Gandhi family troika has consistently failed to rectify matters within the Congress. The absence of a cohesive national Opposition, apart from the BJP, distorts the functioning of a parliamentary democracy.
The Congress Party, as it exists today, is unable to electorally uphold or protect the idea of India. The party's leaders have mastered the art of passing the buck to every conceivable corner except where it should stop.
Recently, Rahul Gandhi accused his own leaders of conniving with the BJP in Gujarat. Since 2014, the Congress Party's vote percentages have dismally averaged around 20%. The more the Congress declines, especially in its real catchment area of north India, the greater is the stasis and stagnation within the party.
However, all is not lost. The Congress Party can undergo a complete revamp and reinvention to improve electoral performance and regain relevance. Key measures include purging divisive elements and abandoning inflammatory slogans, offering a clear, forward-looking vision, modernising party communication, adapting policy positions to reflect 21st-century reforms and development goals, strengthening grassroots presence and candidate selection, and constructive critique and positive alternatives to the ruling government's policies.
These changes require internal discipline, strategic clarity, and a credible policy platform to challenge the current political dominance effectively. Failure to reform risks continued electoral decline and political marginalization.
The Congress Party is scheduled to hold an AICC session in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, from April 8-9. This session presents a critical opportunity for the party to initiate foundational change and begin the process of creating a new Congress that can protect the idea of India it represents. The time to qualitatively change this situation cannot be any further delayed. A beginning can be made at the next AICC session.
The BJP's rise from two seats in Parliament in 1984 to a majority in 2014 and two successive terms in power after that was due to its focus on grassroots organization, cadre, and ideology, whereas the Congress has neglected the first two and is floundering on the third. The BJP plays the role of an anchor in the NDA, while the Congress is seen as a liability by constituents of the INDIA alliance.
The party is in a strange penumbra: It is not yet dead, but is far from being alive. The more the Congress declines, the greater is the stasis and stagnation within the party. The time for change is now. The Congress Party must rise to the challenge and undergo a transformation to remain relevant in India's political landscape.
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