It appears that the Congress leadership is more interested in finding a scapegoat, than reviving the party from the grass roots level. According to reports, the party is all set to engage an election strategist of repute to prepare a plan for the forthcoming electoral battles including the all-important Gujarat Assembly elections, slated to be held by the end of the year. The move is clearly aimed at shielding the party leadership, to help evade the blame in case of another election debacle. Until now, brickbats were regularly hurled at the Gandhi family, especially towards Rahul Gandhi, after every poll defeat. But after the appointment of the election strategist, the party can easily redirect the blame to the election planner, blaming the professional for failing to provide promised results. The ploy is but a poor attempt to save the Gandhi family who have miserably failed in helping the party regain its lost glory after the defeat at the hands of BJP in the 2014 general elections. The party leadership is now trying to escape the blame by outsourcing their responsibilities, which may further plummet its popularity.
For quite some time now, voices from within the Congress have been demanding a change in leadership to save the party from drifting into further oblivion. The dissidents are well within their rights to do so as the Congress last tasted electoral success way back in 2019, when the party won Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. Since then, the party has returned empty-handed in almost every election, including the loss of power to Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Punjab. In Madhya Pradesh too, power has gone out of its hands due to large scale defections of party MLAs. Even in the recently concluded Guwahati Municipal elections, the party has failed to win a single ward. The poor performances of the party at the hustings strongly indicate that the Congress needs a new leader with fresh thoughts and ideas in-order to arrest the unprecedented downslide of the party. But from available indications, it appears that the present leadership is not interested in handing over the reins of the party to anyone outside the Gandhi family.
This is why the present Congress leadership is keen to engage an election strategist ignoring the need of the hour to reestablish a link with the people. It is time for the party leadership to understand that an election strategist can never win an election for any party as his/her role is mainly advisory. A win or defeat in an election completely depends on the party’s vision, its leadership and popularity. At present, the Congress is devoid of all necessary ingredients to win elections. To change the situation, the party leadership will have to lead from the front in-order to regain the confidence of the electorate, which cannot be achieved simply by hiring people. Such steps will only hasten the downfall of the party.