Congress needs to acknowledge the truth of what Azad’s resignation letter says and act if it wants to rescue itself before it is too late

Azad’s letter is undeniably a significant moment not just in his own career, but also in that of the Congress. Not since Sharad Pawar walked out on the “foreign origin” issue, has a senior leader of similar prominence or stature articulated such a powerful critique of the party at the very top. In fact, Azad’s critique is far more political than Pawar’s — it is about the inner life of an institution, not identity. Azad’s recurring use of the term “coterie”, and his anger at the breakdown of consultative mechanisms within, is resonant. His flagging of the conduct of a leader who makes a public show of tearing into his own government’s ordinance, relies on “inexperienced sycophants”, steps down from party presidentship in a “huff”, and controls the party through “remote control” and “proxies” is important not because all this is being said for the first time — it isn’t — but because he is saying it. The fact is that the Congress’s serial electoral losses, its inexorable ceding of space to the BJP and to the regional party, its incoherence on major issues and its inability to hold on to several of its young and ambitious leaders, all have something to do with the erraticness, lack of ideas or any real empathy or connect at its very top.

It has become increasingly clear that for there to be any Congress revival, its top leadership cannot be quarantined from the change. And that is why the Congress would be doing itself a grave disservice if it doesn’t read and re-read Azad’s letter. The party needs to acknowledge the truth of what he has said, and act on it, if it wants to rescue itself — before it’s too late.