One Take | Beyond Manipur Criticism, It’s Time for Congress to ‘Think Positive’ for 2024 Polls​ – News18

Is the Manipur issue to Rahul Gandhi and the Congress what Rafale was in the 2019 polls?

Gandhi gave a speech in the Lok Sabha during the no-confidence motion against the government on the Manipur issue. For Gandhi and the Congress, Manipur is an issue through which it hopes to attack and pick holes in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) narrative on many grounds.

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One of them being the BJP’s claim of being the only party that can ensure sound law and order. Through the issue, the Congress looks to project how the PM and his government had “scant regard” for people and hence was anti-people.

IS IT STRONG ENOUGH?

But is the Manipur issue strong enough to be the fulcrum of the Congress’s campaign in 2024, like the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ and Rafale issue? In 2019, Gandhi had made the latter two the core issues for his party, despite a word of caution from senior Congress leaders.

Many pointed out that calling the PM corrupt would not work as voters couldn’t connect with it. That’s exactly what happened. The Congress fared poorly.

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The party has now understood that mere personal attacks on the PM will not always work. In case of Manipur, however, they feel the PM’s silence for over 76 days and reports of women being raped could actually counter the women empowerment pitch of the BJP for 2024.

However, not many in the opposition front, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), feel that this alone should be the issue.

NEED A POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE

The upcoming Mumbai meeting of the INDIA front is crucial as it will kickstart the work on the roadmap and a common programme.

The BJP has begun to hit out at the INDIA front as a coming together of opportunistic forces who are united by “hatred for Modi”. In the past, the coalition of unlikely parties has not worked well and the BJP will push this as a narrative — any sarkar provided by the INDIA front will be a khichdi sarkar and hence unstable. They will highlight how the front cannot bring about development as all “they will do is to fight for the chair and save the government”.

This is precisely the reason why the INDIA front and Gandhi need to come up with a positive plan and alternative to the BJP.

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The BJP and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will hard sell its work over the past five years. INDIA and the Congress need to come up with an answer to it. Holding the BJP accountable and constant criticism is one thing, but the Congress needs a long-term effective plan, which is possible only if it can come up with at least five big takeaways for 2024.

It worked in Karnataka, where the Congress leaders, while attacking the Basavaraj Bommai government, also offered a solid agenda to voters. This is needed on the national level too.

Only Manipur cannot lure voters. It has to be a plus that can come with a positive minimum agenda.​