A grand old party, demanding route for its revival

The Congress party is no stranger to crises, but the crises it has faced since 2014 are unprecedented and perhaps the worst in its long history. The party reached a historic low of 44 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and increased to 52 in 2019. Since 2014, it has lost 39 elections out of 49 states. In the recently held assembly elections, it managed to win only 55 seats out of 690. In Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. Many leaders have left the party – even those close to the Gandhi family. These defeats and abandonments have raised questions and concerns about its existence. The fact that Congress leaders held extensive talks with a much-awaited election advisor, and were planning to employ his services to reform the party, gives sharp relief to the existential crisis of the Congress. How do we understand the existential crisis of the Congress, and what are the prospects for revival?

a platform that doesn’t work

Historically, the Congress has always come to power on a centrist platform reflecting its diverse social base, but centralism does not work in deeply divided politics dominated by politics of polarization and communal mobilization. Essentially, the old form of liberal politics, which for a long time held together the social coalition of the Congress, has not been able to inspire the imagination of a new India. The Gujarat model of politics focuses exclusively on individual leadership as the driver of election campaigns, a strong sense of Hindu pride, a shift in popular attention to aggressive nationalist appeals regardless of reality or facts, and a full-fledged democracy. The disapproval appears to be the imposition of perception on the past and performance thrills voters. The changes brought about by liberalization, globalization and the information-communication revolution initiated by the Congress have substantially reduced its political ethos and ideological architecture compared to its major rival. The decline of the Congress (and that of other centre-left and left parties) must be viewed in the context of changes resulting from the growth and expansion of neoliberalism and majoritarianism, and other factors that are internal to the Congress, in particular, structural within the stronger party. resistance to changes.

main problems of the party

To borrow a phrase from cultural theorist Stuart Hall, Congress has faced three major structural problems in the political combination defined by ‘The Great Moving Right Show’, and the polarization generated by it. These include the issue of leadership, organizational stagnation, and the need to present and promote a clear ideological alternative to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). I have explored these themes in my recent book on Congress and I am taking some aspects of it here.

The Congress leadership crisis undoubtedly played a part in its downfall; However, the challenge before the party is not just ineffective leadership. Simply appointing a non-Gandhi will not dramatically change the party’s dwindling fortunes. In fact, removing them may strengthen the right-wing agenda. The Congress needs an organizational uplift, with democratization front and centre. But fundamental issues relating to organizational change have been repeatedly set aside and debates on dynastic leadership and an obsessive focus on the Gandhi family have been put forth.

However, it is important to restructure the party’s leadership at various levels through internal elections. It could turn Congress into a more representative organization and promote the party by changing the perception that it is a family business. Currently, the top decision-making bodies are headed by people who have either never contested Lok Sabha or Assembly elections or did so decades ago. His influence, however, has grown in direct proportion to the weakening of the party across India. These structural problems have existed for years, and yet the party has not dealt with them firmly. Despite defeat after defeat, it has shown no urgency for drastic remedial measures. Weak revitalization efforts have focused more on achieving accelerated electoral viability than on addressing long-term structural issues.

low on communication

By far the biggest shortcoming of the Congress is its inability to clearly communicate its ideological positions and values. The biggest challenge is to define its message and convey it to the electorate as a basis for political mobilization. For this, it must clearly reaffirm its inclusive vision for a democratic India, and take credit for its past achievements, which resulted from adherence to these commitments.

A major failure has been the Congress’s reluctance to tell its story. The party did not publicize or expose its distinctive point of view, and this was one reason why it did not play to its strengths during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule, allowing itself to stand out from its critics. The BJP has calculated correctly that as long as it upholds the argument that the Congress is elitist, corrupt and dynastic, it can prevent the Congress from emerging as a credible alternative. What aids and instigates these half-truths is the Congress’s inaction to defend its record and dismiss and ridicule its achievements, even as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has done for the last eight years. has successfully obscured its own poor performance statistics. ,

communal fight

The key issue for the opposition is to define its response to Hindu nationalism. While the Congress largely agrees on the need to counter communal ideas, politics and policies, it has come between striking an ideological compromise with majoritarian nationalism and plotting a fight against it. It has taken a majoritarian stand on some controversial issues, often in the name of religious sentiments. This, however, does not make sense in the midst of the growing influence of the Hindu right. As a strategy and as a reality, mixing religiosity and politics does not guarantee electoral dividends. Moreover, the struggle in India is not about the increasing prominence of Hinduism in our public life, which most parties accept and promote, but about the BJP’s idea of ​​nationalism, which is completely boycott, Which stands against the inclusive nationalism supported by the Congress. Freedom Struggle.

Indian politics has never been more polarized than it is today; The bay has never been so wide. Therefore, today, the fight is more fundamental; It is about the idea of ​​India – the idea of ​​a diverse, pluralistic nation committed to liberal values. By remaining silent on the way nationalism has been redefined, the Congress has handed over the nationalist space to the Hindu right, which today stands out as the major torchbearer of nationalism, even as organizations affiliated with it Made no contribution to the struggle, the crucible that defined Indian nationalism from which he was absent. Nevertheless, its concept of Indian nationalism, for which it has fought, has prevailed for more than a decade, against the inclusive ‘Idea of ​​India’ of the Congress.

Defending a pluralistic view of politics and governance is one aspect of political strategy; The other is basing its politics on social justice idioms that both sidestep identity politics and resonate with a oppressed population, which is different from the policies and politics of the current government. Overall, the revival of the 137-year-old party depends on three things – a coherent narrative to counter divisive politics, a willingness to reorganize the organisation, and to gain strength from sustained public action rather than just elections.

Zoya Hassan is the author of the recently published book, ‘Ideology and Organization in Indian Politics: Polarization and the Growing Crisis of the Congress Party (2009-19)’.