The grand old party, already weakened by desertions and electoral losses under the watch of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, is a shell of its former self as elections in Bihar and other states near.
Towards the end of the seven-hour long stormy meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Monday, Sonia Gandhi was quoted saying that at the end, the party, like a family, comes together as one, despite differences among its members.
The CWC resolution issued later read it “notes that inner-party issues cannot be deliberated through the media or in public fora,” without naming any leaders.
“The CWC urges and advises all concerned to raise such issues only in party fora in the interest of propriety and discipline,” it said.
Soon after the meeting, the unified portrayal notwithstanding, many leaders among the 23 who were signatories to the letter of ‘dissent’, including Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor met at senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s house.
The sequence of events speaks of a clear rift within the party. The meeting outcome was not dramatic with the leaders unanimously deciding to request Sonia Gandhi to continue as party’s interim president for now. Yet, it was marred with clear battle lines drawn between the Gandhi family loyalists and those who wrote the letter seeking collective leadership and a revamp of major bodies.
Most of those present at the meeting, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, reportedly slammed the 23 dissenters questioning the content and the timing of the letter.
“The two voices that have been at the forefront of exposing the government’s inadequate responses, divisive politics and audacious responses are of Smt Sonia Gandhi and Shri Rahul Gandhi,” the resolution read reiterating that the voices of “our two leaders have inspired generations of Indians”, both within and outside the Congress party.
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Now what next for the grand old party, especially when elections in Bihar and other states are nearing. At the CWC meeting, however, the leaders clarified that they were not against Sonia Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi. Many familiar with the developments said Rahul Gandhi will be elected as the President at the All India Congress Committee session scheduled in six months.
Many downplayed the dissent. “Find me a party that is perfect … Yes we need to respond to changes that are happening in the political framework. And we will respond,” senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid told News18 in an interview. “I have not seen the party blaming the dissenters. But there is context and time to anything you do,” he said.
The fresh row over leadership within the Congress comes at a time when Congress has not only been losing election after election but also been unable to hold on to power in states, such as Madhya Pradesh, where it formed the government. Not to mention the recent desertion, including that of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the BJP and the turmoil in Rajasthan which eventually ended with a truce between the Sachin Pilot camp and the other led by chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
“While the surname Gandhi has been an asset since it glues leaders together, it has also become a liability as has been testified by the letter written by 23 senior leaders. I think what played out in the CWC, the crisis is only going to deepen. It’s no good news for Congress. Either some leaders will quit or there will be a clear rift,” Sanjay Kumar of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) told Moneycontrol.
In the past too, leaders who had raised issues on leadership in the party had faced consequences. In 1999, three dissenting leaders, Sharad Pawar, PA Sangma and Tariq Anwar were expelled from the party for six years after they raised the ‘foreigner’ tag of Sonia Gandhi who became the party’s president in May that year.
“The Gandhis may have won, but Congress has lost. This was an opportunity for the party to do a course correction but they failed us and the nation,” said a Congress leader who did not want to be named.