In an exclusive interview with Executive Editor Kaushik Deka, the Congress veteran explains why the party needs to nurture young leaders.
Why. Why is Congress facing existential crisis?
Congress is a natural party of governance. We know how to run the government. But when we run the government we fail to run the party. Most senior leaders are inducted into the government and are not spared for party work. When Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh were prime ministers, we neglected the party organisation. Since party machinery and work was neglected, when we are in opposition, the party organization has not taken up the responsibilities or carried forward the party’s message and narrative.
Why. How do you plan for a revival when the party is virtually non-existent in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and a junior partner in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra? There are about 300 seats in these states.
The decline of Congress in states like UP, Bihar, West Bengal is even before the tenure of Narasimha Rao. The origin of the decline in these states is very different. Under the current circumstances, I would divide the states into three categories—the states where the Congress is the major opposition to the BJP, the states where the other party is the major opposition to the BJP and the Congress is an ally of that party, and finally those where the other party is the BJP. The main opposition is there and the Congress is not in alliance with it.
The challenge is in category one and category three. We need different strategies for the three categories of states. In category one, I will not write to Congress. For example, in Rajasthan we won the assembly elections but lost every seat in the Lok Sabha elections. In MP also, we won the state elections but lost all except one seat in the parliamentary elections. This does not mean that we cannot win the assembly elections again in these states. We need state-specific, clearly defined strategies. We cannot have a pan-India strategy, because Indian politics has become very segregated by states in the last 30-40 years.
“We need state-specific, clearly defined strategies, not a pan-India strategy, because Indian politics has become very segregated by states in the last 30-40 years”
Why. Have voters rejected Rahul Gandhi as the Congress mascot against the Narendra Modi-led BJP?
I do not approve of this mascot theory. Commanders are important, but they don’t win wars, soldiers do. We won practically all the seats we contested for Lok Sabha in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Punjab in 2019. The mascot was Rahul Gandhi.
Why. Has the Congress failed to provide a story in the north where the BJP is very strong?
While the opposition narrative was based on mainstream policies on the economy, social justice, development, foreign policy, internal security and defence, the Congress narrative was good enough to contest and win elections. But our narrative is not sharp enough to compete with the highly polarized narrative of the BJP under Mr. Modi.
Why. Is there a shortage of leaders in the Congress, especially in the states?
I am not familiar with the situation in every state. But I can see young leaders like Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel emerging.
Why. They are all imports; Other youth leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, RPN Singh, Jitin Prasad have left the party. These leaders are from Hindi speaking region.
They are used to their comfort zone. They cannot stay outside the convenient zone of power and position of the ruling party. Either they were untrue about what they said earlier, or they are in the wrong direction in what they are claiming now.
Why. You said recently that senior leaders should retire.
of course. When I was younger, I felt I was fit enough to accept the responsibilities of the party, and I did. Now, 30-40 years later, why should I believe that 30-40 year old men and women are unfit to accept and discharge the responsibilities of the party? Jawaharlal Nehru became the Congress President at the age of 40. All posts at the block, district and state level must have people below 50 years of age.
Why. Should the Gandhi family make room for other leaders?
They have given a lot of space to other leaders, they do not occupy all positions.
Why. But they are taking all the decisions.
This is not true – 95 percent of the decisions taken at the state level are taken by local leaders.
Why. The slow decision-making by the top Congress leadership has been heavily criticized.
In BJP all the decisions are taken by one person or his elected representative. In Congress, although nominally the President is entitled to make any decision, she believes in a decision based on extensive consultation and consensus.
Why. Why did the conversation with Prashant Kishor break? Was he asking for a specific position?
In the three days in which I spoke to him, he did not ask for any post. I was impressed by his data and its logical analysis, which led to certain conclusions. Once the conclusion is reached, it is a question of how do we apply those steps. We suggested a strong working group and we invited him to be a member of that group with defined responsibilities. He flatly refused.
Why. With a pan-India presence, the Congress should be the axis of opposition unity. Instead, Mamata Banerjee, KCR and Arvind Kejriwal are trying to be the new Congress.
No matter how ambitious they are, they can never overtake the Congress. Each is confined to a single state. These parties alone can win a maximum of 48 seats.