New Delhi: The much talked about elevation of Rahul Gandhi as Congress president could happen soon. On Tuesday the ball was set rolling for long-pending organizational polls which would also entail elections to the post of the President of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
The state Congress chiefs met in Delhi on Tuesday to finalise the election schedule.
In case no candidate except for the Gandhi scion files nominations for the top post, Rahul may be chosen uncontested.
The chances of Rahul finally taking over the reins of the party are high this time around. The build up to his elevation has been slow and has been dragged for a while. That Sonia Gandhi doesn’t want to continue at the helm and wants Rahul to take over completely is a known fact. Over the past one year it has been Rahul who has been calling the shots and taking major decisions.
As a part of the takeover strategy, Rahul has been the main face which Congress has been pitting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last three years.
So, when Rahul was in US recently, he attacked Modi for what he called his divisive politics and failed economics. And when senior ministers rushed in to defend the PM and attack Rahul, the Congress smiled as it saw in the retaliation an acknowledgment of the fact that Rahul was being seen as the main adversary to Modi.
The target-Modi strategy is also fraught with a huge risk as Congress is left with limited options for the next general elections.
“Rahul vs Modi is an unequal fight, for it’s a fight between ‘democracy & tyranny’, between ‘devolution & usurpation of authority’, between ‘inclusive growth & crony capitalism’. And yes, Rahulji’s and Congress’s vision will win, for India must win for our values to be protected and preserved for posterity,” said Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.
On the other hand, many Congress leaders like Kamal Nath have been of the view that dual power arrangement between Sonia and Rahul confuses party workers. The leadership issues, this section feels need to be sorted out to have clarity on power and command structure.
Apart from this, Rahul’s handpicked nominees have been dropping hints that the change of guard may finally take place this month end as Rahul continues to carefully pick his team — from social media to state unit presidents.
Recently his confidante and Rajasthan Congress President Sachin Pilot made it clear that “post Diwali there are high chances of Rahul taking over as party president. This is something which the party has been asking for long”.
Rahul as party president will make one thing clear — that 2019 will be a Modi versus Rahul election. Head-to-head, Modi has had an upper hand in a direct electoral face-off with Rahul. Uttar Pradesh elections earlier this year are a glaring example.
He began the UP campaign with a power packed kisan yatra from Gorakhpur and it did enthuse party workers. In fact, Sheila Dikshit was chosen as CM face keeping in mind the Brahmin factor. But midway through the UP build-up, Rahul struck an alliance with SP.
This left his party workers confused. And the result was disastrous. It was also in contradiction to Rahul’s earlier line that he would prefer to go alone rather than tie up with others as this would make Congress lose its identity. Congress under Rahul has won practically no elections. On the other hand, regional satraps like Amarinder Singh have been able to successfully challenge the NDA in their backyard.
Even tactical alliance with the CPM in Bengal proved disastrous for the Congress.
The harsh reality is that Congress is in no condition to fight on its own. To survive, it needs to lean on powerful regional satraps. And many of them, like Mamata Banerjee and Lalu Yadav, may be more comfortable in dealing with Sonia Gandhi. Which is why even if Rahul takes over the organisation, Sonia’s presence will still be needed.
Under Rahul, Congress will have to start winning in states with elections round the corner in Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and MP.
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