There have been several changes at various levels of the principal opposition party. Post-Karnataka, there are signs of recovery in the party that has set its sights on 2019 Lok Sabha elections
Almost exhausted by multiple election losses since 2014, the grand old Congress seems finally recouping. It just surprised the rival BJP in Karnataka by going the extra mile to sew up a working relationship with the JD-S and forming a coalition government, setting its sights on the 2019 general election. For the first time in many years, the Congress exuded a sense of urgency to go out there and get things done. This, until 2017, would have been unthinkable. The farthest the Congress went was to attain the single-largest party status in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya only to squander these mandates in the face of BJP’s quick maneuvering.But the era of inertia in Congress is over. Or so it seems from recent changes Congress president Rahul Gandhi has made. Since December 16, 2017 when he assumed Congress presidency from mother Sonia Gandhi, the 47-year-old has been in the revamp mode. He is largely sticking to what he told the party cadre on April 29 while addressing the Jan Aakrosh rally in Delhi: “In Congress everyone will be respected whether someone is 80 years old or someone is 19 years old. We have space for everyone here.”The message reflected deep acknowledgment of the fact that some seniors would remain indispensable to the Congress going into 2019 Lok Sabha elections while some would have to be rested to pave the way for fresh faces.
Recent changes
Some of Gandhi’s shock decisions stem from the above plan. The first involved replacing 72-year-old Janardan Dwivedi with Ashok Gehlot as party general secretary in-charge of organization on March 30 this year. Dwivedi, who had held this key post for decades, having worked with prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and recently with Sonia Gandhi, signed his own exit orders and named his own replacement.More recently, Gandhi rested former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh from all AICC posts gradually divesting him of the charge of general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Other seniors Gandhi relieved are BK Hariprasad as general secretary Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and CP Joshi as general secretary Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Replacements and new appointments have been interesting with performance emerging as a key factor. “Rahul Gandhi places a lot of premium on performance. When he gives you a task, he expects you to deliver or make way for someone else,” says Shakti Sinh Gohil, former leader of Opposition in Gujarat who tirelessly crusaded against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah and was recently rewarded with AICC charge of Bihar.Gandhi has, in fact, promoted all top Congress organization leaders from Gujarat where they helped the party in giving BJP the jitters in PM Modi’s home state. Gehlot, posted as general secretary AICC Gujarat on election-eve, was quickly brought back as general secretary organization. Young Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra Rajeev Satav, sent as AICC secretary for Saurashtra on Gujarat poll-eve, has just been named party in charge for Gujarat. Gohil has been sent as in charge Bihar.
Work in progress
Former minister and Congress leader Manish Tewari sees these changes as a work in progress. “Change is the only constant in life. The key to running an organization like the Congress is to see how you will get the right balance between experience and new energy and between different generations of people who constitute this vast and varied organization. The ongoing changes are a work in progress,” he says. Oomen Chandy’s appointment as Congress general secretary AICC for Andhra Pradesh replacing Digvijay Ssingh has inspired immense confidence among state leaders. Former minister and Andhra leader Kishore Chandra Deo says: “Oomen Chandy is the best bet for the party in Andhra Pradesh where we have nothing today. Chandy is a Congress man and will keep party’s interests at heart while taking decisions. He won’t be swayed by expediency. Equally important is to revamp the state unit before 2019 elections considering we did not even stand second in most assembly segments in the previous state elections.”By installing Chandy in Andhra and senior-most Congress MP in Lok Sabha Kamal Nath as Madhya Pradesh party chief, Rahul Gandhi has sent out the message that he would trust seniors when the situation so demanded. This is something he did in Punjab by announcing Amarinder Singh the state chief and later CM candidate and in Himachal by similarly announcing Virbhadra Singh the chief ministerial face.Former Mahila Congress chief Shoba Oza reasons: “There are some states that require deft handling and others that can be handled by younger leaders. In Madhya Pradesh, for example, you need someone of the stature of Kamal Nath to take on BJP’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan, a CM for three terms. Likewise in Andhra where you have nothing left, you need someone like Mr Oomen Chandy to rebuild the party.”In the Congress backroom, veterans Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad still hold sway as part of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s core team. This team delivered results in Karnataka by acting in time to strike a deal with JD-S by offering it unconditional support and CM’s post. A similar quickness of thought could have helped Congress win Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya, but its strategists were found wanting in all these states.A Haryana Congress leader notes: “While youngsters need to be brought in to create a new line of leadership, veterans such as Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and Bhupinder Singh Hooda will always have a place in the party for the role that only they can play. The Congress president knows the leaders who can engage Mamata Banerjee or Mulayam Singh Yadav or Mayawati or Karunanidhi. The party chief also knows which faces can win us elections in which state.”That explains why Kamal Nath has been entrusted with Madhya Pradesh. By this logic, Gandhi may eventually name former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda as the state president making him accountable for victory or defeat in the next polls. There is also expectation that Gandhi may send Ashok Gehlot to election-bound Rajasthan in time to play a decisive role. This even when current Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot is hoping for rich dividends from Gandhi who has of late shown signs of political shrewdness, typical of his mother.Despite well-known closeness to Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gandhi did not name him Madhya Pradesh party chief. He appointed him as campaign committee chairman in the state, realizing that Kamal Nath alone has the experience needed to take on BJP’s Chouhan. Other youngsters who have made it big under Gandhi are mainly the people he worked with in Congress frontal organizations such the Indian Youth Congress and NSUI. Gandhi was once general secretary in charge of these organizations.
One-person-one-state
Rahul’s new “one person-one state formula” is also working well to energize the otherwise demoralized Congress cadre who would keep complaining about general secretaries either not meeting them in Delhi or not visiting their states.“In the past, one general secretary would have charge of three-four states making it impossible for him/her to attend to each. As a result the organization suffered. Rahul Gandhi is appointing one in-charge or one general secretary per state, arming them with a team of young secretaries to cover the area geographically and politically. This makes the outreach effective and outcomes measurable,” says former minister RPN Singh whom Gandhi appointed AICC in-charge of Jharkhand.New appointees now realize that with one state under their charge, performance-monitoring, too, would become easier.“Rajeev Satav turned Gujarat’s Saurashtra around in a few months and was rewarded. Others would have to similarly deliver,” says Shakti Sinh Gohil.
Structural changes
The party organization is being rebuilt at two levels: At one level are party’s mentors who will continue to work with Sonia Gandhi to help forge alliances where necessary in states and later in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. At another level are young workers being positioned in organizational roles to be groomed as future leaders like former PM Rajiv Gandhi groomed Ahmed Patel, Kamal Nath, Azad, Gehlot and V Narayanaswamy, who are now helping the party in their own way.That said, Gandhi is not putting all his eggs in one basket in any state. In every state unit, he is creating a team of leaders.“The idea is to democratize the party and create a sense of collective leadership. The Congress chief has been telling everyone privately to first win elections and then bother about who the CM would be,” says a senior Congress leader.On many occasions, Rahul Gandhi has publicly appealed to Congress leaders to forget factionalism and unite for the party. Addressing the 84th Plenary Session of the AICC in March this year, Rahul said: “Please discipline yourself, at least until elections. You can fight later.” His anxieties seem natural considering his party is in power only in Punjab, Karnataka, Puducherry and Mizoram (where elections are due later this year). Only time will tell if Gandhi’s message of unity is registered with the leaders, and if the course he has chosen is good for the party. Until then, the Congress cadre can take heart from the fact that he is finally trying.
THE DIVESTED
Janardan Dwivedi
As general secretary, organization: Dwivedi had been asking to be relieved for some time. He had irked the Congress leadership with strong stands on certain key issues. While the Congress slammed demonetization from day one, Dwivedi called it a “socialist measure”. He advocated reservations based on people’s economic status inviting rebuttal from then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi herself. He backed the Uniform Civil Code, something the Congress dilly-dallied on. Dwivedi also once said that late PM Rajiv Gandhi had spoken of his daughter Priyanka as his political heir. On BJP’s 2014 LS victory, Dwivedi had said: “Perhaps people found BJP to be closer to Indian-ness.”
Digvijay Singh
As general secretary Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka: Singh failed to get Congress to form a government in Goa where the party emerged the largest. He was accused of losing time allowing the BJP to steal the mandate. Under his watch Congress lost its entire electoral base in Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation.
CP Joshi
As general secretary Bengal: Congress finished a distant fourth in the recent gram panchayat polls in Bengal and continues to cede space to BJP which is emerging as the main opposition to TMC.
Mohan Prakash
As general secretary Madhya Pradesh: Congress could not wrest power from BJP despite anti-incumbency against the BJP in Madhya Pradesh.
BK Hariprasad
As general secretary Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh: Replaced in routine like others who could not deliver electoral victories under their watch.
PROMOTED
Ashok Gehlot
As general secretary organization: Former Rajasthan CM Gehlot delivered as AICC general secretary Gujarat, he took the fight to PM’s home state.
Rajeev Satav
As AICC in charge Gujarat: For delivering in Gujarat election 2017 as AICC secretary earlier.
Kamal Nath
As MP Congress chief: Nine-time Lok Sabha MP, Kamal Nath is seen as the only Congress leader who can take on BJP’s three-term CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the yearend MP polls.
Sushmita Dev
As Mahila Congress chief: Dev is an MP from Assam and a young firebrand woman leader known for sloganeering in Lok Sabha.
Source : Aditi Tandon