THE CONGRESS CONUNDRUM

The election verdict is finally out.

And believe it or not, it’s high time for us to ponder upon the very reasons which led to the grand old party’s decimation in four out of five states save a consolation victory.

This humiliating defeat of congress has brought the INDI alliance on its toes and has made the party vulnerable to sharp criticisms from its allies.

I’d first like to mention the key factors that propelled the BJP secure a comprehensive win;

i) MODIfication of Indian politics;

PM’s image as a plebeian leader, has helped him establish a rapport with people at the grassroot level within the states, who in turn flush votes in his name for the party, irrespective of whosoever represents them.

ii) Robust election machinery;

Impressive electoral strategy with the top brass at helm, supported by immense hardwork and dedication of the karyakartas has driven the party to success. Be it the panchayat polls or the LS elections, the efforts within the PP remain the same which is commendable.

iii) Flexible approach;

Adjusting to the very needs and demands of the elections at any point of time whether it be the eleventh hour has turned out to be a USP for BJP. For instance, rooting in Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje at the last moment helped the party woo a sizeable section of voters.

iv) Hardcore Hindutva;

BJP’s crystal clear ideology trumped Congress’s soft hindutva, as even the laymen were able to sniff out the party’s petty appeasement tactic.

v) Ultimatum on corruption;

Emphasis on eradication of corruption and red tapism, along with focus on delivery of public services in a transparent and an efficient manner helped create a significant impact on the minds of the voters.

vi) Shift from Conventional Popularist Welfarism;

Targeted approach through DBTs towards the beneficiaries w.r.t certain schemes and programmes rather than relying upon conventional welfarist measures such as free electricity, free laptops etc..

On the other hand, the loss of INC can be attributed to the following reasons;

i) Intra party conflicts;

Gehlot-Pilot dispute in Rajasthan as well as recent power tussle b/w Baghel and the outgoing Chhattisgarh Dy. CM T.S. Singh Deo has made the party structurally unsound.

ii) Weak central leadership;

The Gandhi siblings haven’t been able to control the party reins effectively.

iii) Aged top brass;

The party management must now be handed over to the younger leaders, and stalwarts like Kamal Nath, Gehlot and Digvijaya must make way for the likes of Pilot.

iv) Inter party tensions within the INDI alliance;

INC must do away with its “big brother attitude” and must stop acting like a hegemon. It is important for the party to believe in coexistence, put an end to dictating terms and accord respect to its allies.

( Recent Akhlilesh-Vakhilesh comment by Kamal Nath proved to be disastrous for Congress as it hurt the sentiments of a certain class of voters)

v) Nari neglect;

BJP’s variety of schemes for “mahila sashaktikaran”( eg. ladli behna yojana in MP) gave a fillip to the party’s popularity among women, whereas on the other hand, Congress failed to perform on this front.

vi) Overdependence and overconfidence on revdis;

Overemphasis on freebies by Gehlot Sarkar in Rajasthan and lack of attention to other major problems such as "anti-incumbency" made the party dig its own grave.

Therefore, in order to get ready for the mega finale next year, the CWC must address these issues seriously and come up with certain changes. The very first step towards recovery is to humbly accept people’s mandate, and start again from scratch zealously.