“Naya Sonia- Wahi Kahani” (new Sonia, same story) is the latest episode that has come to fore as internal struggles continue to manifest in the Congress party. After being reinstated as temporary party chief, Sonia Gandhi went to top gear to control damage in the party. She has not only asked the party seniors to work together, but also held virtual meetings with the Congress party chief ministers and friendly non-BJP chief ministers to set the home in order.
Sending a clear message that she is doing everything to keep the Congress folks together, she also warned the disgruntled elements that the party posts will come only for those who serve the party during hard times, and those resorting to anti-party activities will have to face the music. But only after a day, senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s dispiriting statements sent ripples in the party circles. The brewing resentment among the Congress seniors does not seem to have died down. While the cold war within the party is on, Azad stirred another controversy by stating that the party might have to sit in the opposition for another 50 years, “if it (Congress Party) had to depend on non elected persons to run the show.”
Reiterating his earlier demand, Azad stressed on the internal democracy in the party by conducting elections to the party posts of AICC president, PCC presidents and party heads at the district and block levels. Exposing the ‘appointment culture’ of the party, he pointed out that those who are directly elected to the top party posts will not get the support of even one per cent of the rank and file of the party. “An elected president, at least, will have the support of 51 per cent of those in the party,” he reiterated. Many in the party are taking the statements of Azad as satirical digs at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
But Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had the last laugh due to their strategic moves that have successfully silenced the dissenting seniors. However, the victory might be short-lived. The local district committee in Uttar Pradesh passed a resolution to oust Congress leader Jitin Prasada in the backdrop of him joining hands with dissenting seniors.
Taking to twitter, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal took exception to party leaders targeting Jitin Prasada. He suggested those targeting senior party leaders to conduct their surgical strike against BJP and not against their own party leaders. Jitin Prasada immediately retweeted the statement. If these internal conflicts continue to shape up creating sharper division lines, then Azad’s prophecy that Congress will sit in the opposition for 50 more years might just come true.