Party men feel that Rahul Gandhi needs to get more organised in his communication with the voters.Six months after its worst defeat in Lok Sabha elections, the Congress has completed its own introspection and decided against any drastic changes in its ideology, leadership or organisation. Despite the demand from some leaders to bring in new leaders at the centre, the party has stuck to the stand that the best hope is to continue with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. On the demand for a larger role for Priyanka, the party men have left the decision to the party's first family. Even though senior leaders P. Chidambaram and Digvijay Singh have debated the possibility of non family members leading, it has been dismissed. Both Chidambaram and Digvijay singh stayed away from contesting the elections as the Congress had no hope in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
Even the Antony Committee which went into the reasons leading to the defeat has not blamed any single leader and called it a collective failure of the party and government. That is why Sonia has desisted from any reshuffle of the AICC. The general secretaries, secretaries, the Congress working committee are undisturbed. Only the core committee, an ad hoc body constituted for running the UPA government for ten years has been disbanded.
One reason given is that the high command has been busy with assembly elections. Similarly, change at the state level has been minimal, though the change of PCC President in Tamil Nadu triggered the revolt of former minister G.K. Vasan, who has revived the Tamil Manila Congress.
The faith in the Gandhi family is rooted in the fact that Sonia revived the party from the paralysis caused during the presidentship of P.V. Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri in 1990s, and led the party to victory in 2004 and 2009. The argument is that one defeat, however massive it was, should not lead to abandonment of the leader. But party men feel that Rahul Gandhi needs to get more organised in his communication with the voters and also get involved with cadres and like-minded parties.
On ideology, Sonia is clear that the Congress should not abandon its chosen path, which is focussed on 'aam aadmi' and secularism. During the first wave of economic reforms under Rao and Manmohan Singh, she had told socialist minded Congressmen that the country needed reforms with a human face. Now after ten years of legislative activism which brought in rural employment guarantee, food security and other mass interventions, the Congress is unlikely to be persuaded to dilute its ideology. Sonia's advisers also feel that as Narendra Modi implements his ideology, the Congress can confront and win back the voters.
Despite the determination to stick to the ideology and leadership, Congress has to find ways to function as an aggressive opposition. As the party leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge once noted, the Congress is shy of non stop disruption. But the party has to find the will to function as a strong opposition both within and outside parliament, even as the focus continues on leadership mettle of Rahul Gandhi.
Tailpiece: Delhi Congress is divided on whether Sandeep Dixit, son of former chief minister Sheela Dixit should contest the assembly elections, as he lost the Lok Sabha elections. Sheela loyalists want him, but her critics led by AICC general secretary Ajay Maken say one Dixit was enough.
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