'If things don't work on the ground and they continue moving at this pace, it will vanish.'
"If the Congress wants to remain in the fight it needs to think on all fronts -- funds, rebuilding the organisation and its ideological position," says Dr Shilp Shikha Singh, researcher and political analyst at the Giri Institute of Development Studies in Lucknow.
"The Congress needs to make maximum compromises and not demand many seats because they are actually not a national party anymore," Dr Singh tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in the concluding part of an interview.
The two main criticisms against the Congress are: 1. Sonia Gandhi's reluctance to give up the family's control of the party; 2. The delusion that Congress is the most important Opposition entity and all other parties have to be secondary to it.
Where does that leave the party?
The party is losing elections and will not be able to strengthen its position unless some magic happens.
What could be that magic? The magic could be the coming together of Opposition parties. Some parties like the Aam Aadmi Party and Biju Janata Dal may distance themselves, but there are others that the Congress could bring on to one platform and build meaningful alliances.
The Congress needs to make maximum compromises and not demand many seats because they are actually not a national party anymore.
They should be flexible while negotiating with regional partners.
The party should continue with the agitational politics Priyanka (Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) was doing in UP. It did not get them votes, but if they are thinking long term, they should continue with agitation politics.
They should be strategic, strike tactical alliances and focus on women and youth in ticket distribution.
There's also a debate within the Congress about whether it should be a cadre-based party or a mass-based party. Some within the party say it is not moral or ethical because a cadre-based party often has a hidden agenda, while others say that if the party has to respond to a cadre-based party like the BJP, it should also have a cadre.
But building a cadre takes years and needs consistent effort on the ground. There is also a paucity of funds. Industry groups have also started distancing themselves from the Congress, partly because of Rahul Gandhi's attacks on big business.
Therefore, if the Congress wants to remain in the fight it needs to think on all fronts -- funds, rebuilding the organisation and its ideological position.
You mentioned Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's UP campaign. The UP result showed that barnstorming a few weeks before the election does not help unless you have an organisation on the ground.
The organisation of the Congress was a legacy of the Independence movement. Earlier, Congress leaders could directly contact the village pradhan who would give them the assurance that the entire village would vote for the party.
Today, you can't get that assurance even from your own family!
An organisation is not just built by the top leaders, you need local leaders, booth managers and common people on the ground.
After the poor performance of the Congress, even those local people who may have joined them before the election would have vanished.
People will be ready to work for the BJP even without money because they feel that the connection will give them rewards later on.
There is a whole cadre of the RSS which does not work for money, so that's a difference between the two parties.
If the Congress can't motivate its own leaders who are leaving the party, how will it motivate their cadre?
They also need to work between elections. The party cannot expect magic if they start working six months before an election.
The Congress has not learned the language of being in the Opposition. They need to behave like an Opposition and have a long term vision.
The BJP has been in power for a small period and hence has the advantage of being new. The Congress has to deal with a heavy baggage.
Has the Gandhi family become an impediment for the party?
The Gandhi family is not an impediment. The Gandhis have kept the flock together. Without them, every other person will be ready to be the leader.
Rahul and Priyanka have good ideas. They are not shrewd. They need to come down from their high morals and be pragmatic.
The chowkidar chor hai slogan offended people because it was meant for a leader elected by the people as prime minister. The BJP indulges in similar character assassination, but it doesn't emanate, at least in the public realm, from the top leaders.
Its people lower down in the cadres who spread this which then circulates on WhatsApp.
The BJP has been very successful in assassinating the character of Rahul Gandhi. Some of his parliamentary speeches were very good. But most of the people don't know about them because they believe whatever gets circulated on social media about Rahul Gandhi.
How can the Congress' proposed Kashmir to Kanyakumari yatra help the party? Is it possible for the party to bring about these changes to help in the 2024 election?
It can help the party if it is done in the right way. If it spreads the right message and gets the right coverage.
It's not just Rahul or Priyanka, every Congress leader -- old and new -- needs to come out and reach out to the public.
They don't need to do something that nobody has done.
The Congress should forget about 2024, but not everything is about winning an election.
2024 is important and every election after that is also important. Like I said, the Congress needs to learn how to be in the Opposition and how to manage that space.
A parliamentary democracy works well only when there are at least two parties. There is no accountability if there is only one party.
Do you feel there could be a time where the Congress would cease to exist as a party?
If things don't work on the ground and they continue moving at this pace, it will vanish.
A strong Opposition is very critical for the health of a democracy. If the Congress disappears, there has to be an alternative to the ruling government.
But at the moment, there is no leader in the Congress or any other party who can match up to Narendra Modi.
It's true they don't have a leader to counter Modi, but democracies are not led by leaders alone. The leader is the image; you also need strong institutions and faith in the Constitution.
If institutions are weakened, my rights are in danger today and tomorrow your rights will be endangered. That is where the BJP's weakness lies.
Its power structure is dominated by the upper castes and their style of operation is not very democratic.
They are accommodating other communities, but they are also posing challenges to inclusiveness.
Modi doesn't like dialogue. He gives very good speeches, but his debating skills are yet unknown to the public.
He's a good leader, but he believes in homogeneity. Personality cult does not bode well for the health of a democracy.
The flip side of Indian democracy is that it has heightened the personality cult. The people are enchanted with the personality of their leaders.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
