That Sinking Feeling

After a brief lull, the Congress is once again at war with itself even as it goes into high-stakes electoral battles against formidable opponents바카라�the BJP, in particular바카라�in four states and a Union Territory. The uneasy truce that ailing interim party chief Sonia Gandhi had brokered last December, when a faction of Congress leaders demanded sweeping organisational reforms, has run its course.

Viral videos of Rahul Gandhi sea diving off the Kerala coast, his 바카라�push up challenge바카라� to a school student and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra learning how to pluck tea leaves at Assam바카라�s Sadhuru tea garden may proffer supporters some hope of an electoral revival for the crisis-ridden party. However, the coming together of erstwhile Nehru-Gandhi family loyalists in Jammu last week to reiterate concerns over the withering edifice of India바카라�s grand old party is evidence that knives are, once again, out for the 135-year-old organisation바카라�s ruling family.

In Jammu, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Bhupinder Hooda, Manish Tewari, Raj Babbar and Vivek Tankha바카라�all signatories to the controversial letter sent by 23 party leaders to Sonia last August demanding urgent organisational overhaul and an effective leadership바카라�refrained from launching a direct attack on the party high command. But they reiterated concern for the Congress; Sibal declared that the 바카라�truth is that we see Congress getting weak바카라�. However, party colleagues바카라�including some of the 23 who have now returned to the 바카라�family fold바카라�바카라�made it known that the Jammu Declaration was an act of betrayal.

Senior party leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Abhishek Manu Singhvi made it clear that if Azad and company really wanted a strong party, they would 바카라�work to ens­ure the Congress바카라�s victory in the upc­oming assembly elections instead of raising these issues in Jammu바카라�. The Jammu Chalo brigade, which is now planning to host public meetings in various states­바카라�starting with Bhupinder Hooda and Anand Sharma바카라�s home states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh respectively바카라�with the objective of 바카라�preserving the idea of India바카라�, is mum on why it isn바카라�t campaigning for the Congress in poll-bound Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, Pondicherry and West Bengal. Sharma has triggered ano­ther row by slamming the inclusion of Islamic cleric Abbas Siddiqui바카라�s Indian Secular Front (ISF) in the Left-Congress pre-poll alliance in Bengal. While Sharma termed the ISF바카라�s inclusion as going 바카라�against the core ideology of the Congress바카라�, Chowdhury hit back, saying Sharma was 바카라�only serving the polarising agenda of the BJP바카라�.

Congress leaders who continue to exp­ress confidence in the leadership of the Nehru-Gandhi family point at various 바카라�clear signs바카라� of betrayal by Azad and his comrades. Narendra Modi바카라�s flambouyant praise and tearful adieu that marked the high point of Azad바카라�s farewell from Rajya Sabha last month, amid speculations that a possibility of his re-nomination to Parliament바카라�s Upper House had been quashed by Sonia and Rahul, had already been a cause for much consternation. The former Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha) made matters worse by heaping praise at Modi last week for 바카라�not hiding his true self바카라�. Rumours have been rife ever since바카라�from talk of an imminent split in the party to mass resignations by the 바카라�rebels바카라� and even the possibility of Azad being Modi바카라�s choice for succeeding Venkaiah Naidu as Vice President next year.

Party insiders believe that there are critical twists and turns that the outburst by Team Azad portends for the Congress in particular and the overarching Opposition in general. While Azad declined to comment on the controversy that the Jammu outing has triggered, a confidant of the former J&K CM and co-signatory to the letter tells Outlook 바카라�the meeting in Jammu should caution Rahul and his coterie that none of us can be treated as pushovers바카라�we have all given our lives to the party and can바카라�t be ignored purely on the whims of one man바카라�. He adds that the election of the Congress president, due in June, would see the rebels pushing for a contest 바카라�whether Rahul is in the fray or chooses to field a proxy바카라�.

Another 바카라�rebel바카라� Congress leader says that the Azad camp will decide on its future course once results for the upcoming assembly polls are declared on May 2. 바카라�If the Congress performs poorly, and as of now we think it will perform poorly except in Tamil Nadu where it may come to power on the strength of its alliance with the DMK, there will be a major churn within the Opposition because leaders like Sharad Pawar and Mamata Banerjee will no longer want to play second fiddle to the Congress바카라�the leadership of the UPA too will be up for the taking,바카라� he says.

The question of Pawar replacing Sonia as the UPA chairperson had come up some months ago too, but the Maratha strongman had quashed the rumours. Shiv Sena바카라�s Sanjay Raut has kept the discussion alive by rep­eatedly red-flagging the need for better coordination within the Oppo­sition bloc and the inability of the Congress to do so. While the Sena is not officially part of the UPA, Congress sources say, Raut바카라�s words can바카라�t be brushed off lightly and that he may as well be speaking at Pawar바카라�s behest 바카라�just to test the waters바카라�.

For now, the strategy of the Congress high command hinges on some plans, say sources; foremost being the need to win at least four of the five poll-bound territories--the only exception being Bengal, where party insiders are resigned to a rout against Banerjee바카라�s Trinamool and its key challenger, the BJP. Riding on its 바카라�five guarantees바카라� of stopping implementation of the CAA, providing five lakh government jobs to locals, Rs 365 as daily wage to tea garden workers, 200 free electricity units a month and Rs 2,000 monthly allowance for housewives, party leader Gaurav Gogoi says the Congress-led alliance in Assam is 바카라�confident of a historic victory바카라�. However, the party is more subdued about its hopes of wresting Kerala from the ruling Left alliance, and doing well in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry (it lost its government in the Union Territory to defections days before the polls were announced). 바카라�We are sure of winning Tamil Nadu but even Rahul is clear that we are a minor player and the true credit for a clear victory will go to (DMK바카라�s) Stalin. In Pondicherry, there is public sympathy for us and we hope to win but Kerala looks like a tough fight right now,바카라� says a party leader who is in-cha­rge of a southern poll-bound state.

By ensuring that Rahul and Priyanka lead the party바카라�s charge in these polls, the Congress high command is hoping that the taint of transient leadership that the duo faces will fade. The new loyalists have also been vociferously echoing Rahul바카라�s latest jibe of Hum Do Hamare Do at the Modi government, which has had the BJP roiled, much like Rahul바카라�s earlier taunts of Suit-Boot ki Sarkar and Chowkidar Chor Hai. After the party바카라�s 2019 Lok Sabha def­eat, Rahul and Priyanka had reportedly made their displeasure known to Congress seniors like Azad, Sharma and others for not backing him up on the Chowkidar Chor Hai offensive. Rahul바카라�s current confidants are also critical of the party바카라�s rebel leaders for 바카라�once again ditching Rahul바카라� by not singing the Hum Do Hamare Do tune.

Poll campaigns aside, family loyalists are also busy emphasising that while Rahul and Priyanka have been at the forefront of every broadside launched against the BJP, the 바카라�so-called Congressmen who are worried about the party have been conveniently abs­ent바카라�. Says Rahul-aide and Indian Youth Congress chief Srinivas B.V., 바카라�From Covid to China and Hathras to farmer protests, Rahul Gandhi has agg­ressively led the party charge against the BJP. He and Priyanka are addressing farmers, going to kisan mahapanchayats, meeting common people. Rahul has even said election manifestos must be made in every state after direct public consultation. What are these people, who say they want to see a strong Congress, doing to help the party; they only speak negative things and help BJP (sic).바카라�

In recent months, there has also been an effort by the high command to dep­lete the numerical strength of the mutineers. Sources say that of the 23 leaders who had signed that contentious letter in August, nearly a dozen have already been placated. 바카라�There main grouse was that they were feeling sidelined and underutilised. In a large party like the Congress, it is natural that some people may, at times, feel left out. The leadership took note of their concern and has tried to accommodate as many of them as possible with crucial responsibilities,바카라� says party general secretary Pawan Bansal.

The cracks within the dissenters are already visible. Former Karnataka chief minister and one of the 23 signatories, Veerappa Moily, tells Outlook, 바카라�Ours was not a dissent letter but a memorandum that we gave to the Congress president and she took note of it. As responsible Congressmen, it is now our duty to work for the party in whatever role our president gives us. Raking up old issues and complaining every other day doesn바카라�t help anyone. For me, the chapter of that letter is over and I am no longer part of that group.바카라� Another notable signatory, former Union minister Jitin Prasad, echoes Moily. Prasad, presently the party바카라�s in-charge in poll-bound Bengal, also took exception to Sharma바카라�s outburst against the Left-Congress alliance with the ISF. 바카라�These decisions are taken keeping the best interests of the party and our workers in mind. It is our duty as Congressmen to keep aside differences and work tog­ether to improve the prospects of the Congress in upcoming elections,바카라� Prasad says.

Come May 2, the poll results would determine whether these machinations in the corridors of 24, Akbar Road alleviate the problems of the family and the party or exacerbate them further.