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Attacking Sonia, not Rahul’s coronation, Digvijaya’s intent
The Congress’ cup of woes is full. The statement by party general secretary Digvijaya Singh, calling upon the “youthful” Rahul Gandhi to takeover the reins of the party, is another way—if decoded politically, and many in the Congress are doing just that—of asking Sonia Gandhi to make way for a non-family leader.
Today, there is hardly any leader in the party who is convinced that the Congress’ salvation lies in Rahul Gandhi, no matter what their public utterances. They all know that it is beyond Rahul to revive the party. If anything, the impact of suggesting his elevation is only going to be negative both inside and outside the Congress. So when Digvijay Singh calls for Rahul’s elevation, he may well be targetting Sonia Gandhi. It was not without interest that it provoked a sharp reaction from old time family loyalist ML Fotedar, who has otherwise been hibernating. Many in the party are crying for Priyanka Vadra to save the Congress.
Again, given the controversies surrounding her husband Robert Vadra now is hardly the moment for Priyanka to come into politics. This is the time for Sonia Gandhi to play a more proactive role as Congress president, not to relinquish charge.
And yet there is a section in the party which feels that the Nehru-Gandhi family has lost its USP—of garnering votes—which made its leadership indispensable for the party. The party’s Lok Sabha strength had hovered around 145 Lok Sabha seats in many elections. Though it came back to power in 2009 with 206 seats, it did not reflect the organisational strength of the Congress all over the country, which had been declining over the decades, wiped out as it was in large states: UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. A large number of Congressmen are deserting the party, as they did in 1997, when a resurgent BJP under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had attracted many. Nothing is being done to stop them, nor is there a figure to hold them back. In 1998, Sonia Gandhi’s entry into active politics had stemmed the erosion, as Congressmen and women had faith in the Nehru-Gandhi family’s ability to win elections. Today this belief has taken a hard knock.
During the last few years, it used to be questioned whether Digvijaya Singh was trying to become a VP Singh—who had come out of the Congress in 1987 and joined hands with the entire opposition to emerge as the country’s PM in 1989, defeating Rajiv Gandhi who had only five years earlier won 415 seats.
When politics is in such a state of flux, it is difficult to make any definitive statements. But Digvijaya’s statements/actions have to be viewed against the backdrop of the pressure many regional parties are feeling from the BJP which is growing at their expense. They know that they will have to make common cause in a BJP-versus-the-rest scenario, so as to survive, possibly following the Laloo-Nitish model in Bihar. They also know that secularism will have to be a keystone of the ruling party versus opposition politics in the future. And that it is the Congress, however weakened, which will have to play the “sutradhar” of a united opposition.
If the various offshoots of the Congress decide to join hands, the united opposition could have a centrepiece which holds the opposition edifice together. It was significant that soon after the Congress’ decimation in May 2014, one of the first statements made by Digvijay Singh was to call for all those who left the Congress—NCP, TMC, Jagan Reddy’s YSR– to make common cause.
Though Digvijay Singh has been known over the last five years to “shoot his mouth”, he is probably the most politically astute politician in the Congress today, and probably the most acceptable political leader as far as the minorities are concerned. He has worked hard during the last five years as AICC general secretary in charge of several states, reaching out to Congressmen, to former Congressmen— he is believed to be moving in step with some of them–as well as to leaders across other parties. He has obviously been readying the soil, in the hope for a harvest sometime in the future.
Clearly, Rahul’s proposed coronation is not his real objective. It could be, many believe, to try and capture the Congress.
Economic Times | Blogs
@JanjaWeed @seiko @levina @Sidak @scorpionx @DRAY @Android @jha @Indrani @45'22' @others Interesting times ahead....................
@SpArK - SPECIALLY INVITED.
The Congress’ cup of woes is full. The statement by party general secretary Digvijaya Singh, calling upon the “youthful” Rahul Gandhi to takeover the reins of the party, is another way—if decoded politically, and many in the Congress are doing just that—of asking Sonia Gandhi to make way for a non-family leader.
Today, there is hardly any leader in the party who is convinced that the Congress’ salvation lies in Rahul Gandhi, no matter what their public utterances. They all know that it is beyond Rahul to revive the party. If anything, the impact of suggesting his elevation is only going to be negative both inside and outside the Congress. So when Digvijay Singh calls for Rahul’s elevation, he may well be targetting Sonia Gandhi. It was not without interest that it provoked a sharp reaction from old time family loyalist ML Fotedar, who has otherwise been hibernating. Many in the party are crying for Priyanka Vadra to save the Congress.
Again, given the controversies surrounding her husband Robert Vadra now is hardly the moment for Priyanka to come into politics. This is the time for Sonia Gandhi to play a more proactive role as Congress president, not to relinquish charge.
And yet there is a section in the party which feels that the Nehru-Gandhi family has lost its USP—of garnering votes—which made its leadership indispensable for the party. The party’s Lok Sabha strength had hovered around 145 Lok Sabha seats in many elections. Though it came back to power in 2009 with 206 seats, it did not reflect the organisational strength of the Congress all over the country, which had been declining over the decades, wiped out as it was in large states: UP, Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. A large number of Congressmen are deserting the party, as they did in 1997, when a resurgent BJP under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had attracted many. Nothing is being done to stop them, nor is there a figure to hold them back. In 1998, Sonia Gandhi’s entry into active politics had stemmed the erosion, as Congressmen and women had faith in the Nehru-Gandhi family’s ability to win elections. Today this belief has taken a hard knock.
During the last few years, it used to be questioned whether Digvijaya Singh was trying to become a VP Singh—who had come out of the Congress in 1987 and joined hands with the entire opposition to emerge as the country’s PM in 1989, defeating Rajiv Gandhi who had only five years earlier won 415 seats.
When politics is in such a state of flux, it is difficult to make any definitive statements. But Digvijaya’s statements/actions have to be viewed against the backdrop of the pressure many regional parties are feeling from the BJP which is growing at their expense. They know that they will have to make common cause in a BJP-versus-the-rest scenario, so as to survive, possibly following the Laloo-Nitish model in Bihar. They also know that secularism will have to be a keystone of the ruling party versus opposition politics in the future. And that it is the Congress, however weakened, which will have to play the “sutradhar” of a united opposition.
If the various offshoots of the Congress decide to join hands, the united opposition could have a centrepiece which holds the opposition edifice together. It was significant that soon after the Congress’ decimation in May 2014, one of the first statements made by Digvijay Singh was to call for all those who left the Congress—NCP, TMC, Jagan Reddy’s YSR– to make common cause.
Though Digvijay Singh has been known over the last five years to “shoot his mouth”, he is probably the most politically astute politician in the Congress today, and probably the most acceptable political leader as far as the minorities are concerned. He has worked hard during the last five years as AICC general secretary in charge of several states, reaching out to Congressmen, to former Congressmen— he is believed to be moving in step with some of them–as well as to leaders across other parties. He has obviously been readying the soil, in the hope for a harvest sometime in the future.
Clearly, Rahul’s proposed coronation is not his real objective. It could be, many believe, to try and capture the Congress.
Economic Times | Blogs
@JanjaWeed @seiko @levina @Sidak @scorpionx @DRAY @Android @jha @Indrani @45'22' @others Interesting times ahead....................
@SpArK - SPECIALLY INVITED.
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