The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet on Monday, August 24, proved a damp squib for all the expectations it raised over the prospects of changes in leadership. It was hoped that the party will take at least some decisions aimed at rejuvenating the party, let alone influencing the course of national politics. In fact, majority of Congress leaders have not desired a party chief from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, but most think that some steps must be taken to inject new blood into the party and to halt the ‘drift’ the party is in.
Dashing these hopes, the meeting ended with leaders adopting their usual ‘Hail Sonia’ resolution. Moreover, the meet instead of uniting the party, widened the gap between seniors and Rahul Gandhi after the latter’s outburst against those who tried to share ideas to reform the party into a strong political force. It is a wonder for many that how can a party with such legacy and history become so inactive and sluggish.
Sonia’s resignation strategy
Two consecutive election defeats have thrown the party into disarray. People have concluded that Rahul is no match to a charismatic leader like Narendra Modi. On the other hand, party president Sonia Gandhi has not been active because of ill-health. In this backdrop, 23 senior leaders wrote a letter to Sonia calling for steps to rejuvenate and revive the party. Gandhi family is on a defense mode with loss of power in Madhya Pradesh and a near miss in Rajasthan.
The Gandhi family faced a piquant situation when seniors called for revamp of the party. They pulled some new tricks to overcome the crisis. They gave leaks to media that they are going to step down from their posts in the party. Priyanka Gandhi strategically remarked that a ‘non-Gandhi’ must lead the party.
Through this strategy, they succeeded in their attempt to pit their staunch loyalists against the senior leaders who called for revamp and change. As expected, the CWC meeting turned into a battleground for the two camps.
High drama
As per plan of the first family, its loyalists began to attack signatories to the letter insinuating ‘collusion with outsiders’. Rajasthan and Punjab Chief Ministers along with Sonia family coterie criticized the senior leaders for calling for change in leadership. Buoyed by the support of these sections, Rahul Gandhi went a step ahead and accused the letter writers of ‘connivance with BJP’.
This accusation by Rahul deeply hurt leaders like Azad and Sibal, who have been in the party since long and have fought BJP tooth and nail. While Azad openly dared Rahul to take action against them for ‘colluding with BJP’, Kapil Sibal posted a tweet expressing his hurt. He later withdrew it saying Rahul personally told him that he did not make the comment.
Loyalty mantra
The game plan of Sonia family has succeeded. Change in party leadership and revamp have been completely forgotten. These developments have confirmed the fact that no one except Sonia Gandhi or her children can lead a party which is ridden with contradictions. Hence, CWC urged Sonia Gandhi to remain as interim president. There are no indications as to the meaning of ‘interim’. It is clear that the status quo will continue till the party plenary to be held next year. So, until then, we can’t expect any effort for revamp or leadership change.
Naturally, this controversy has caused anguish in many Congressmen who have desired rejuvenation and revival of the party. They want Rahul or Priyanka as party chief, if not Sonia. They expected at least this controversy would put the party in the hands of young generation leaders, but nothing of that sort happened, which is a typical characteristic of the grand old party. Political analysts are warning that such inertia on the part of main opposition party does not bode well for democracy in the country. But there appears to be no such concerns in the Congress leadership.
