A Congress Mukt Bharat (Congress Mukt Bharat) is what Mahatma Gandhi wanted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Said in the Lok Sabha on February 7, 2019, suggesting that Gandhi had called for the dissolution of the organisation.
Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has popularized the phrase during its election campaigns across the country, said, “Congress-mukt Bharat is not my slogan. I am fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi’s wish.”
Reduction till September 2021.
The 136-year-old Congress organization is facing the same problems – perhaps even more – that were chasing it two years ago.
A series of electoral defeats has shattered the morale of the party cadre. Confusion over leadership and the road ahead has stalled the decision-making process. From Rajasthan to Punjab, infighting keeps raising its ugly head. To make matters worse, 23 veteran leaders who have called for reforms in the party have publicly dissented.
Congress Mukt Bharat does not look far, at least on the electoral map of India, with the party’s political footprint slowly dwindling.
The Congress is in power on its own in three states – Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Three more – in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand – are junior partners in the ruling coalition.
And it is not only the BJP that challenges the relevance of the Congress. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), two key players in the opposition faction, are set to rise at the cost of what is known as the “oldest party”.
What happens in Delhi ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and whether the opposition can unite and form a rainbow alliance to take on the BJP is a different story. But, for now, the truth is that Mamata Banerjee’s TMC and Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP are hurting the Congress – at times badly – in their pockets of influence.
It is no secret that the TMC and AAP, buoyed by their electoral successes against the BJP in West Bengal and Delhi, want to expand. Both parties know this will give them bargaining chips and help them flex muscle at the national level, especially in the event of the formation of the Rainbow Coalition. This expansion seems to be happening at the expense of Congress.
Both TMC and AAP are tempting Congress leaders to switch sides while trying to grab the opposition space left by Sonia Gandhi’s party due to the departure of popular faces.
Apart from the three states where the Congress is in power on its own, there are some other states including Uttarakhand and Goa where the party is in direct competition with the BJP.
It will be interesting to see how AAP and TMC strategize and push to become a political alternative in such states. They may not be in a position to grab power immediately, or be in a position to take second place, but they will certainly be eyeing a share of Congress votes in these states.
TMC story
Elections in Tripura are due in 2023, but the TMC has already prepared its ground in the BJP-ruled northeastern state.
While the Congress is looking to forge an alliance with the Left – which was ousted by the BJP in 2018 – the TMC has given all indications that it wants to be the main challenger in the upcoming assembly elections.
TMC is repeatedly sending its big guns to Tripura. Abhishek Banerjee, an MP and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has been blaming the ruling party for alleged attacks on TMC workers – just as the BJP is following TMC over allegations of post-poll violence in Bengal .
Analysts say as the TMC raises its political pitch, the high-profile defections in former Congress leader Sushmita Dev’s party may help boost the Northeast’s prospects.
I am not going to say anything against Gandhi family. I got a lot from him. But I felt that I can do my job better here (at TMC).
She was once an integral part of the core team of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi. But the lack of career progress in the Mahila Congress meant that the TMC had a relatively easy task of persuading her to switch loyalties.
Before Dev, it was Abhishek Mukherjee, son of former President Pranab Mukherjee who left the Congress for the TMC. Abhishek Mukherjee didn’t have the best equations with Mamata Banerjee. Hence, his joining TMC shows that the party cannot be in a hurry to induct a prominent face.
The TMC seems to be working on two levels. First, it wants to ensure that a section of leaders who joined the BJP return to the party ahead of this summer’s Bengal elections. It says it is in touch with some BJP MPs; Four BJP MLAs, including heavyweight Mukul Roy, have already returned.
Second, its eyes are on leaders of other parties outside Bengal. Congress appears to be a good option given the alleged infighting within the organization and frustration among a section of its leaders. Moreover, the Congress and the TMC – which was born out of the split in the Congress in 1998 – are ideologically close. The transition from Congress to TMC will be easier to manage.
Also, there are indications that face recognition and inclusion in TMC’s expansion plans will be a high priority. An example would be Sushmita Deb, who analysts say could help the party in Bengali-speaking Tripura as well as in Assam.
Some Congress leaders from Delhi, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are also believed to be on TMC’s radar. But the party does not consider this strategy to be contrary to the idea of so-called opposition unity. TMC’s Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said, “We are not poaching. We are a political party, and not an NGO.”
you playbook
AAP seems to be adopting a different strategy. Some prominent Congress faces like Ajay Kumar and Alka Lamba have returned to their old party. Meanwhile, AAP, unlike TMC, is looking to recruit at lower levels.
With an eye on the 2022 elections to Delhi’s mighty Municipal Corporations (MCDs) – which are under the BJP’s control – the AAP is wooing Congress leaders at the grassroots level.
And now that the AAP has decided to contest elections in Punjab and Uttarakhand, where elections are due next year, it needs foot soldiers and is believed to be exploring alternatives from the Congress camp in these states.
AAP is also looking for a Sikh face for its chief minister’s post in Punjab, where the battle for power in the Congress is in the open. For this, talks are going on with some disgruntled Congress leaders.
“In these states, Congress leaders have experience which can be helpful for a new party like ours. We want to enter those states where the Congress is in direct competition with the BJP. Given the position of the Congress, which does not seem to be in a mood to fight back, it is more tempting for us to enter an arena without multiple parties,” said an AAP leader on condition of anonymity, suggesting That his party is looking to grab a part of the Congress vote.
Congress downplayed the stand of AAP and TMC. Congress’s chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, “We wish all the best to those who give up everything, but some of us stick together in bad times.”
Rahul Gandhi, while talking to the party’s social media team a few days ago, made one such pitch: “Whoever has to go, let them go. We don’t need them.” We will fight with those who are with us.”
However, the Congress appears to be on a shaky ground when it comes to defection. It lost the most electoral candidates among Indian political parties in elections between 2014 and 2021, according to an analysis of affidavits analyzed by National Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
While 222 electoral candidates left the Congress in the last seven years, 177 MPs and MLAs parted ways. In other words, a total of 399 MPs and electoral candidates left the party. During this, 115 candidates from other parties and 61 MPs and MLAs joined the Congress.
In comparison, 111 electoral candidates and 33 MPs and MLAs quit the BJP during the elections since 2014. But, unlike the Congress, the BJP gained more than it lost. During this, a total of 253 candidates and 173 MPs and MLAs joined the BJP.
The aggressive stance of the TMC and AAP may worsen these figures for the Congress, whose fire brigade will surely finish their job. The biggest challenge for the Congress will be keeping its flock together in preparation for the 2024 elections.
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