The Leader is Elsewhere, Still

Lowest ever numbers coupled with clueless leadership, Congress lacks direction as an opposition both within and outside Parliament

On 6 August, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was at his fiery best when he stormed the Well of the House along with other Congress members. He shouted slogans against the Government, and his anger was evident when he spoke to the media outside Parliament. “There is a mood in Parliament that only one man’s voice counts for everything in this country. There is a mentality in the Government that discussion is not acceptable,” he said. It was the same Rahul Gandhi who was caught on TV dozing off in the House barely a month earlier.

Rahul Gandhi’s aggression enlivened Congress leaders and came as a shot of adrenaline for the down-and-out party cadre; their hero, they saw, was back in form. But the euphoria evaporated quickly, when Rahul Gandhi chose not to speak in the House discussion on communal violence that followed, something that he himself had demanded. What began as a high point for the Congress in the Budget session turned out to be another damp squib. Except his occasional outbursts, Rahul Gandhi largely remains aloof. In the past 100 days, ever since his party lost power so humiliatingly, there have been many moments for him to show his followers what a Congress in opposition can do. However, his idea of the concept of opposition remains a mystery for his own party.

“More was expected of him. He seemed to take the lead role after [the recent incidents of] communal violence. But he didn’t take up,” says Mridula Mukherjee, a professor of Modern History at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Senior Congress leaders, though, are quick in jumping to his defence. “He went into the Well of the House as a duty-bound Congress Member of Parliament,” says Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha. “He will speak on several issues in the future in Parliament and is very active outside the House. Other leaders, including me, have spoken.”

It is a sign that little has changed in the Congress after the General Elections. Consider the informal panel formed by party President Sonia Gandhi to examine the reasons for its defeat. The committee, headed by former Union minister AK Antony, held several meetings with state leaders and finally submitted its report on 14 August. Instead of putting the party and its leadership to any form of serious self-scrutiny, the report pinned almost all blame on the media and a grand campaign by the BJP’s Narendra Modi.

Expectations of structural changes to address the party’s glaring deficiencies have sunk further since then. Few believe anything will happen of much significance. “It will be just a shuffling of cards, if at all it happens. This party never learns from its mistakes,” says a General Secretary of the party. The few changes that are underway are likely to be announced only after the upcoming Assembly polls. “The current Congress is not only a defeated one but a demoralised one,” says Sanjay Kumar, an academic at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. “The problem is that they expect a lot from their leadership, which has a poor record.”

The not-so-bad performance of the party in recent assembly bypolls would have been a reason to rejoice and re-energise party workers for a fight, but dejected Congress leaders see little hope of any major revival in the near term. “It is difficult to say that we are gaining much after 100 days of the Modi Government. There are several factors which come to play in bypolls,” says a senior Congress leader.

Learning what noises to make in Parliament is an important part of opposition politics. The Congress of today looks like the BJP of 2004, trying to make everything an issue. It all started with the Congress raising its voice for the Leader of Opposition post, something the party does not have the required Lok Sabha seats for (at least one-tenth the House total). The party tried everything, from bargaining jointly as the leader of an alliance to quoting constitutional necessities, but to no avail. “It’s the discretion of the Speaker to appoint a Leader of Opposition, but this government doesn’t want to follow the democratic process,” contends Kharge.

The Congress’ uproar on foreign policy, inflation and governance is more theatre than social concern. “The removal of governors was a big issue in the Congress kitty, but the party approached it with reluctance,” says Sanjay Kumar. There were several bills which were to be introduced by the UPA. When the current NDA Government brought in those bills, the party opposed them in the Rajya Sabha, where its voice still counts since it has larger numbers. “We were not opposed to the bills but the current Government introduced them with some amendments and that’s why we asked them to refer them to a standing committee,” says Kharge. “Don’t forget that we have also helped the Government in passing the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2014.” Others in the party also claim that they are playing the role of opposition successfully. “We have been raising different issues, be it Chinese incursions… or talks with Pakistan, or India’s position at the WTO; we have cornered the Government on each of these,” argues Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmad.

Yet, in its three months out of power at the Centre, the Congress has not been able to find a central theme to mobilise party workers, especially in poll-bound states such as Maharashtra, Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, where it has seen an exodus of local leaders. “No one cares in the Congress for a loyal worker. The top leadership is briefed and guided by some senior leaders who have their own vested interests,” says former MP Choudhary Lal Singh, who joined the BJP on 25 August. Dithering by the Congress top leadership has led to desperation among workers, even as allies look out for better prospects. Just before the Assembly election in J&K, for example, it has lost a partner in the form of the National Conference.

In Haryana, the party has lost stalwarts such as Chaudhary Birender Singh to the BJP and Avtar Singh Bhadana to the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). “There is no respect for senior leaders like us. Hooda created a situation where it was difficult for me to stay. I told Soniaji a number of times, but she did not take any action against him,” says Bhadana. There are problems in states such as Maharashtra and Assam too, where party morale is scraping new lows.

The only opportunity on which the Congress has capitalised well is the recent snubs given to its chief ministers by BJP workers in the Prime Minister’s presence. The Congress scored a PR victory and got other non-NDA parties to voice their outrage as well. The PMO called Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda—who was among the victims — and invited him for tea on 22 August. The party is planning to make it a poll issue. “We are going to tell the people of this country how the Modi Government is not able to live up to its pre-election promises,” says Kharge. “There is no dearth of issues. The 100 days of the Modi Government has given us enough ammunition to fire [with],” he adds.

Congress needs to behave like a cohesive unit, unlike the divided house it has become. It needs street visibility, with leaders in command. The party is faced with its toughest battle: survival.

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