Congress Presidential Election and Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra Is Break or Make Moment for The Grand Old Party

Congress — a party that has been in power for almost 54 years since Independence, is now fighting an existential battle after losing a series of elections post-2014. Cut to 2022, and the party has taken two key measures to infuse life into it.

New Delhi: India’s Grand Old Party is standing at a critical juncture in its 137-year journey since being formed by Sir Allen Octavian Hume in 1885. The party – that once played a pivotal role in India’s freedom struggle and later in giving shape to the current democracy – is finding itself under pressure not just from the ruling party but from the regional players too. The party that has been in power for almost 54 years since Independence, is fighting an existential battle after losing a series of elections post-2014. Cut to 2022, and the party has taken two key measures to infuse life into it. It comes at a time when it was being increasingly criticised for giving the ruling BJP a walkover, election after election.

The first big step by the Congress party is the Bharat Jodo Yatra. It is being seen as an attempt by the party to connect to the grassroots. Led by Rahul Gandhi, the Bharat Jodo Yatra will cover 3,500 km across 12 States and two Union Territories. Rahul Gandhi has pitched this yatra as an attempt to connect with civil society and is getting some good responses in its first leg. Sir Winston Churchill once famously said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Rahul is calling it “an effort to unite all Indians and protect its diversity at a time when it is under pressure from the Hindutva ideology and the BJP”. Reports indicate the initial response to Rahul Gandhi in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala leg of the yatra has been encouraging. It is no secret that RaGa is not a great public orator. Therefore, the foot march seems to be a good idea to connect with the people. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party is trying to adapt. Better late than never.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra needs to be backed with some careful adjustments in the party’s thinking. The party needs to focus on constructive things. No matter how much its differences from the RSS and its ideology, it needs to be careful in its attack. Opposing political ideology is fine but doing self-goals isn’t. Demeaning someone even when you do not agree with the ideology isn’t a great idea. That would also be against the Bharat Jodo Yatra that you have set forth. Coming to the point, tweeting the image of the Khaki half-pant on fire was needless. Similar reasoning applies when the BJP talks of “Congress-Mukt Bharat”.

The second and most significant thing to have happened with the Congress Party is the presidential election happening on October 17. First time in decades, the party will see a direct election with a non-Gandhi President. The elections, if free and fair, will blunt the dynasty and nepotism criticism often levelled against the party. This is significant especially because it also sends a message across to the grassroots level that those who stay and work for the party do rise from the ranks. It is here that Congress had failed to adapt over the years. The party gave a feeling to the workers that only persons with political lineage would be preferred. It was enough to distance the middle-class, the aspirational class from the party. The BJP on the other hand kept earning the trust by providing space to the middle-class aspirations. The elections will send a strong message to the village, to block, district-level Congress workers of its intra-party democracy. Rahul Gandhi has a chance today. If he manages to hold impartial and fair elections, he would do more service to the Congress party than any other party president post-Independent India.

As of today, Shashi Tharoor and Ashok Gehlot have emerged as two possible candidates for the post. While Tharoor brings the dash factor to the table, the Rajasthan CM Gehlot is known for his organisational skill and for scripting many electoral wins in the state. Whosoever wins, the Congress Party will have new ideas and ammunitions to tackle the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The very idea sounds interesting. The Congress Party has a lot of groundwork to do. Many times in the past, the party has simply failed to put a strong fight. Will it be different this time? Only time has that answer.