The battle for Uttar Pradesh will now be fought by two Gujarat leaders for their respective parties, reports Saroj Nagi
Can Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi win allies for their parties if made the prime ministerial candidates for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections? Saroj Nagi analyses
Rahul gets a helping hand for 2014: Priyanka steps in to boost her brother's prospects for the prime minister's post, writes Saroj Nagi
Rahul Gandhi is no Sonia Gandhi or Indira Gandhi to revive the party but the Congress president too needs to share the blame for the current state of affairs and the party's debacle, says Saroj Nagi.
In a departure from the image that Rahul has crafted for himself over the last nine years since his election from Amethi, he has twice over the last 10 months invoked his mother's tears to add a dash of emotion to give a boost to his political campaign. Saroj Nagi wonders why.
Narendra Modi's elevation in the BJP has given a fillip to the idea of an alternative forum for those who want to counter him for the 2002 Gujarat riots and for those like Nitish Kumar who do not wish to be part of a dispensation which is steered by him, says Saroj Nagi
Both the Congress and the UPA government are racing against time to try and revamp their image with the people. The new direct benefit transfer schemes, the proposed food security bill, the land acquisition bill and perhaps the women's reservation bill are among the vehicles that the Congress intends to use to reach out to the people, says Saroj Nagi.
Though Congress leaders tried to put a fig leaf to their misery with arguments of increased vote share and seats, specially in UP, the way the electorate voted in different states has demoralised party cadres and put a question mark over its leaders to motivate voters and inspire its supporters, feels Saroj Nagi.
In the coming days, there would be loud calls for a greater role for Priyanka Vadra who, party leaders think, has a greater voter connect and appeal than her brother who has been pushed into the forefront by their mother.
Amethi's member of Parliament failed to use his first formal television interview to reach out to the people in general and the electorate in particular ahead of the crucial elections in which the Congress has already been written off by opinion polls and surveys. He did little to change that impression by failing to exploit the platform provided to him.
Arvind Kejriwal's party will need around 50 seats to make a pitch for the Left's space in national politics. For that, it will have to contest more than one third of the Lok Sabha seats, points out Saroj Nagi.
In the coming days, the Congress may be run by a trimurti of Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, with Rahul holding the primary position both in Parliament and in the party and Sonia and Priyanka helping him out as and when required.
The Congress party's only hope now lies in its desperate wish that an unstable conglomerate of non-BJP, non-Congress parties comes to power with its support and collapses within a couple of years by which time the party hopes to salvage whatever it can from the debris of 10 years of the UPA's incumbency, says Saroj Nagi.
'Delhi 2015 is a warning of an intensifying nightmare in the offing.'
The Congress president's election comes up early next year and party workers fear Sonia may pass on her mantle to Rahul. If that happens or if she continues to remain at the helm but Rahul calls the shots, there could be large scale desertions of workers and leaders worried about their future.
With almost 300 seats to the Lok Sabha being dominated by regional outfits, the Congress has added to the list by giving space to more regional forces in the Seema-Andhra and Telangana regions, says Saroj Nagi.
Despite the recent electoral reverses, Rahul is getting ready to walk the fire once more. The question is whether he will get burned or burnished in the process, says Saroj Nagi.
Sunday's results may be a bitter pill that the Congress has to swallow -- that its future cannot be hitched to Rahul unless he can resonate with the people, feels Saroj Nagi.
'Sonia is trying to become a politician again. Will she succeed?'
Congress gets into the opposition groove but still has miles to go, says Saroj Nagi.
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