Interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi was right when she asked her party leaders to be more visible on the ground, rather than being always present on Twitter. But if one thinks that by following the instructions of the top leader, the century-old party of India will show any urgency to make a comeback in the near future, he or she is completely mistaken. Reviving the Congress from its present state is not only a difficult task, but also a distant dream. After the miserable defeat in the last general elections, the party is slowly but steadily drifting into oblivion. In medical terms, the party is in ventilation and chances of recovery is slim to say the least. In such a scenario no matter what the party president says, the writing is on the wall. The words from Sonia may enthuse her party workers, but the fact remains that people have deserted the party. Until and unless the ruling BJP commits a blunder, Congress’ support will continue to decline.
It is the pet slogan of BJP to make India free from Congress (Congress mukt Bharat). Ironically, more than BJP, it is the Congress which is destroying itself. The same old story of infighting, nepotism and tons of corruption along with ongoing leadership crisis, the party is now battling with such a disease which it had not encountered earlier. It’s a struggle for existence for the Congress party. Thus the need of the hour is to fight as hard as possible. But the party is still relying on lectures and showmanship. Sonia should have done well if she had done some homework before making such a comment. If she had done the homework, Sonia would have found that worst offenders in the name of connecting with the people through social media are her children. Since the defeat in the last general elections, number of times we were informed that Rahul Gandhi would tour the entire nation to revitalise the party. But till now, no preparation is in sight.
Now, coming to Priyanka, whom many Congressmen see as a reincarnation of former Prime Minister and grandmother the late Indira Gandhi, has so far shown no political skills. She was entrusted with the responsibility to look after the party in Eastern Uttar Pradesh and she failed. After the elections, she hit the roads once, spent a night in police custody and just vanished thereafter. The law and order situation is pathetic in UP. Everyday news of murder, rape and communal trouble are pouring in. But the person in charge of the State on behalf Congress is spending time in her posh Lodhi Colony residence and accomplishing her duty by tweeting now and then. So the question must be raised why can’t Sonia ask her children to go out and fight against BJP to regain the confidence of the people. From the sequence of evets, it is clear that Sonia had just read out a prepared speech without meaning anything in particular.
It’s a pity to see the once major political force in the country in such a fragile state. These days the party only has a signboard presence in India politics. Sensing the danger top leaders of the party are preparing ground to switchover to BJP. Leaders like Madhav Rao Scindia and Abhishek Manu Singvi among many others are openly praising the Prime Minister. Clearly, the Congress is now a rudderless ship.
