Both dissenters and loyalists in the Congress are now crying for “change”, conceding that the party is too enervated and demoralised to challenge the Narendra Modi government that has regained control over the system with the victories in the Assembly elections.
Although they do not have a clear idea about the contours of this change, the two camps in the Congress expect a makeover in both organisational set-up and narrative.
Both groups believe that the challenge of the Gujarat polls later this year has become much tougher with the Congress’s credibility hitting a new low. A new approach to political mobilisation and communication needs to be designed without further delay, most leaders insist.
They feel the Congress is still in a direct fight with the BJP.
The states that will go to the polls over the next two years are Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. This is the battlefield where the Congress has to reinforce its relevance, and party leaders are therefore insisting on efforts at rejuvenation on a war footing.
The dissenters, some belonging to the G-23 group, say they had run the risk of speaking the truth at the cost of their personal clout within the party. Even the loyalists say the party requires a drastic restructuring to be able to deal with the political challenges ahead.
“We are in a pit. This shock should jolt the leadership and firm action should follow,” an office-bearer, who always dismissed the need for any change and condemned the G-23, told The Telegraph.
One senior leader of the G-23 said: “What we did was stress the need for corrective measures to strengthen the party. We were vilified and attacked. The sycophants thought silencing us was the real battle even as the party slipped from bad to worse. We should have learnt the right lessons from the elections in Haryana, Bihar, Assam, Bengal and Kerala. But we persisted with the same ad-hocism and were routed again. Are we on a suicidal path? Will there be any serious introspection even now?”
A former MP said: “The foremost objective should be unity in the party. Everybody has to contribute. We must prepare an effective plan for revival and implement it collectively.”
Another leader said: “We are grappling with an existential crisis and extraordinary efforts are needed to stem the rot. The responsibility lies with Sonia Gandhi. She should sit with all the important leaders from across the country and resolve the disputes. If this is not done, Modi will achieve his objective of a Congress-mukt Bharat by knocking us out of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.”
Apart from organisational issues, what has alarmed leaders from both the groups is the message from these elections that Modi’s popularity is more or less intact. “The governance failures, Chinese intrusion, Covid mismanagement, unemployment and price rise haven’t dented his image. What we have to realise is that his core support base doesn’t judge him on these parameters. We can keep harping on these issues without any gain unless we evolve a credible response to his majoritarian politics and claims of robust nationalism,” one leader explained.
The general perception that Modi’s image had been severely scarred by the Covid mismanagement and that the people were deeply unhappy with him has been demolished by these results.
The younger Congress leaders who had started seeing Modi as a liability for the BJP have reviewed their position and now admit he still has a connect with the masses. One of them said: “Despite his failures and misdeeds, people think they don’t have a better choice. This is a crisis for the Opposition. Unless we deal with this issue, we don’t stand a chance.”
The emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party too is troubling these leaders, who had expected Arvind Kejriwal to go downhill. They now expect a much bigger challenge from him after the overwhelming victory in Punjab.
“He will now pose a serious problem in Gujarat and Himachal. He will also create hurdles to Opposition unity, much like Mamata Banerjee, and we should prepare to go alone instead of wasting time forging alliances,” a younger leader said.
Although the Congress Working Committee is expected to meet soon, organisational restructuring may have to wait as the internal election schedule has already been announced. Some leaders have suggested an immediate two-day brainstorming session to prepare the road map.