[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Congress sent senior party leader Mallikarjun Kharge to Assam to gauge the mood of party MLAs, MPs and Ministers besides others in the backdrop of the revolt against Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi by a group of party legislators led by the state’s Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The lawmakers met Kharge individually over the last two days and placed their views before him. Those loyal to Gogoi emphasized that replacing the Chief Minister at this juncture would be both unfair and ignominious given his stature and his public assertion that he would not contest the next assembly elections in the state due in 2016. But the party rebels stuck to their guns, insisting on leadership change to “save” the party in the state keeping in mind the BJP juggernaut. Once Kharge submits his report, the party leadership will take a call on the crisis but if Congress insiders are to be believed, the leadership itself is divided on whether to go with or without Gogoi.Among the very few backing the Chief Minister is party Vice President Rahul Gandhi who wants Gogoi to continue till the next assembly elections. In the last six months or so, the Congress did all that it could to resolve the crisis but it only got deepened every passing day. The crisis reached the flash point after the Congress was decimated in Assam in the last parliamentary elections. For a party that has not lost a single election since 2001, the kitty of just three seats out of 14 was too little. Infighting certainly was one of the reasons for the party’s dismal performance. The results handed the Congress rebels an opportunity to go all-out for Gogoi’s scalp. They singled out the Chief Minister for the party’s worst-ever performance in the state and stepped up the demand for his removal. Once they had even threatened to move the Raj Bhavan. If anything, it is ostensibly number that made them so belligerent. At least 45 out of the 77 Congress legislators are with Sarma. They are unequivocal in their demand that Gogoi has to go. Offers of Deputy Chief Ministership to Sarma also did not work. But Gogoi himself is to be blamed for the situation he now finds himself in. The fact that he has been wielding power for over 13 years made him arrogant. He, perhaps, forgot that a Chief Minister needs to go with the flock. That he has always kept loyalty above anything, including performance, was evident during his selection of ministerial colleagues. Those loyal to him were continued to be retained in the ministry despite their terrible performance. Such postures ruffled the feathers of many within the party. The rebellion against him is now viewed by many as the outbursts of pent-up anger. Sarma was once Gogoi’s most trusted lieutenant until he fell out with him. Their relationship now has reached the point of no return. Some people say the emergence of Gogoi’s son Gaurav distanced Sarma from the Chief Minister. But few will, perhaps, dispute that Sarma’s stunning rise as a politician and his acceptability within the party leadership threatened some people loyal to Gogoi. The rebel legislators have often rued that they were not given enough opportunities and space to serve people and grow as public leaders. There is, perhaps, some truth in it. During the last parliamentary elections, the Congress tried to reach out to people by listing out the achievements it made under Gogoi over the last two decades. Sarma once alleged that efforts were always made by those in the party handling publicity not to adequately highlight the achievements of his departments. He was miffed that his feat of giving jobs of school teachers to around one lakh youth in the state was not given due publicity. The people in Assam are not bothered whether Gogoi carries on or is sacked. All that they want is an end to the crisis because it is hurting them very badly. Development in the state has taken a backseat ever since a section of the legislators raised the banner of revolt against Gogoi. But those engaged in the power struggle must understand that they have no right to hold people to ransom. Hopefully, this will dawn on them sooner than later.
