Foundation Day: Cong has many miles to go

The Grand Old Party of India on Wednesday entered the 138th year of its existence and celebrated its Foundation Day with programmes across the country. The celebrations come at a time when party leaders led by Rahul Gandhi are engrossed in the Bharat Jodo Yatra which has no doubt created ripples in the states it covered though it remains to be seen if this will convert into votes when parliament polls are due in 2024.

The going has been tough for Congressmen in the past eight years since it was ousted from power at the Centre and in several states where it once held sway. Except for a handful of states like Rajasthan, Chhattisarh and Himachal Pradesh, the party is a pale shadow of its original self in most other states while enjoying the spoils of power in Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand riding on the popularity of its allies.

In Kerala and Karnataka, the Congress continues to adhere itself to a large section of the population thanks to powerful leaders who command the loyalty of large sections of the masses. But the picture in the remaining states including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Gujarat is dismal to say the least. There are some who believe that the fortunes of the Congress will change after Rahul returns from his yatra, hardened and wiser from his manifold experiences and his interaction with various strata of society during his 3,000-km odyssey.

Whether this will happen or not is something left to the realm of the future; right now, as the country steps into the new year which will see nine state Assemblies go to polls, the party is struggling to get its act right as far as poll strategies are concerned. In states like Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram and Nagaland, the Congress is yet to firm up alliances which will give it a head start over the BJP which has been assiduously building its base in the northeast over the past decades where it was once a non-entity.

Thousands of crores have been spent to build up the saffron momentum in the N-E states where the Congress is now forced to play second fiddle to the BJP. It remains to be seen what tactics the Congress envisages to turn the tide in these states. After the reverses it suffered in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP is sure to launch a full-fledged offensive to retain power in Madhya Pradesh while going all out to topple the Gehlot and Baghel governments in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh respectively.

The infighting in Rajasthan between the Gehlot and Pilot camps is sure to take the sheen off the party’s performance in government while in MP, it will call for a superhuman effort from Kamal Nath and co to unseat the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government which seems to be sitting pretty after getting leaders like Madhavrao Scindia on its side. As for Chhattisgarh, this is one state where governance could make the difference with CM Bhupesh Baghel sure to benefit from the many milestones he has achieved.

In Telangana, the less said the better about Congress prospects with the TRS and BJP engaged in a bitter fight for the honours. A victory in at least two or three of the nine states will surely help boost the Congress morale ahead of the 2024 parliament polls with Karnataka one of the states where its chances have never looked brighter than now.

But a disunited Congress could wreck any hopes its workers have of a return to power. A united Congress dedicated to secularism, liberty and justice can be an effective bulwark against the BJP but considering the crises it faces in many states, the party still has many miles to go before going a notch ahead.