Before the dawn of 2019, the year that is destined to witness one of the biggest election battles of independent India, Rahul Gandhi has doubtless established himself as a formidable challenger.

But such a conclusion has not prevented Congress leaders from wondering whether the party has put in place the strategy and the apparatus required to dislodge the well-oiled machine that is at the command of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.

Many Congress leaders concede in private that the Modi-led BJP can be expected to fight back with everything it has got in the next 100 days but the Opposition so far has not been able to project a credible alternative in terms of a coalition of forces and vision.

A member of Rahul’s core team admitted: “The sense of urgency is greater on the other side while we give the impression that we are drifting along, despite the stimulus provided by the victory in three states.”

While the nature and contours of the coalition is still unclear — in the key state of Uttar Pradesh, the picture is not pretty for the Congress — Rahul’s own team is yet to don the battle gear.

With Ashok Gehlot shifting to Jaipur as Rajasthan chief minister, the key post of general secretary in charge of the Congress organisation is lying vacant. There is uncertainty about many state presidents and some feel that the communication system is still being run by greenhorns.

Expressing concern over the disinterest in sustaining the political momentum created by the BJP’s ouster from the three heartland states, a senior leader said: “At the organisational level, Rahul is hamstrung by the absence of a strong team. He is acting like a one-man army; a demolition machine. He has more or less succeeded in that mission and the transformation to the next level should have happened by now.”

Another leader echoed the sentiment: “People know Rahul’s politics now — that he is pro-poor, he has commitment and passion to serve the weak and the deprived, that he doesn’t bluff, that he has the energy and courage to fight Modi who was seen as invincible till sometime ago. But Rahul is surrounded by the wrong people, while some are incapable of even understanding the nature of challenge, leave apart delivering, others’ integrity is suspect. He should be wary of people who are not going to fight Modi sincerely.”

Multiple opinions, especially aimed at rival factions, are nothing new in the Congress. This time, generational tensions have also cropped up with senior leaders expressing scepticism whether the younger lot can be entrusted with political management at this crucial juncture.

States like Haryana, where the Congress stands a chance to beat from the BJP, are in disarray. There is no general secretary in charge of Haryana since Kamal Nath moved to Madhya Pradesh as state president and later chief minister. Many general secretaries and state minders will contest the Lok Sabha election, before which a shuffle is called for.

The leadership is busy celebrating the signs of revival that 2018 threw up. The party launched a social media blitz to highlight the country’s unease with Modi’s failures and communal tension in the country.

On the last day of the year, the Congress repeated what they do daily: condemn the RSS-BJP for divisive politics. Videos encapsulating the tragic events of 2018 were posted with such bookish messages: “They thought their hate would divide us, little did they know love will always unite us.”

Recalling the violent incidents that killed many, including policemen, the Rafale deal and bank frauds and the clampdown on institutions, an essay on the party’s website said: “The Modi government has not given India many reasons to celebrate this year. The Congress, however, has tried to usher in hope by standing up for the rights of the people, especially the downtrodden.”

Rahul, who achieved notable political success by denting Modi’s image with his acerbic slogan — “Chowkidar chor hai” — sang the same tune hours before the dawn of the new year. He tweeted: “Chowkidar ka bhesh, choron ka kaam (In the guise of a custodian, working like a thief).”

This portends a bitter, no-holds-barred fight in 2019, which will decide whether the Modi-Shah duopoly will get a fresh lease of life.