The glory of Congress in Indian politics now looks like a chapter in the books of history as the party which ruled the country for more than 50 years since independence in 1947 faces yet another drubbing in the vice presidential election as Gopal Krishna Gandhi, the candidate backed by Congress, seemed no match for NDA’s nominee Venkaiah Naidu who will sworn in as the 13th vice president of the nation on August 11.
The analysis of the political graph of Congress since the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 projects a gloomy tale of the party which once happened to be the synonym for Indian politics. The disaster in 2014 where Congress only managed to secure 44 seats was followed by the setback of the 2017 5 state assembly elections as the party only managed to form their government in Punjab, a minor consolation for losing in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa.
The latest additions to the list of losses for Congress have been the presidential and vice presidential polls.
In the Upper House of the parliament too, BJP is leading Congress by 1 seat with the inclusion of SampatiyaUikey. With 58 MPs BJP now is the largest party in the Rajya Sabha.
The crux of the matter is Congress is fast losing its political relevance in the country and on the other hand BJP’s dominance is growing with every election. Along with the top three political positions, BJP has its government in 18 out of the 29 states of the country while for Congress; the count is as low as 6 which include a union territory, Puducherry.
The warning bell for Congress rang in 2014 but now the party is truly facing a crisis of existence. What is absolutely clear is the fact that the 70 year old Sonia Gandhi, who is currently the party’s supremo, is not half as charismatic as her mother in law and the former PM Indira Gandhi. As far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned, he just does not seem to be fit for Indian politics. In fact, the 47 year old Congress vice president, who still claims to be a youth leader, is widely criticised for his political and strategic incapability in the mainstream media and as far as the social media is concerned, he probably the leads the list of trolls on political personalities.
“I think that Gandhi name is past its sell-by date. His mother at least had AN interest (in politics), Rahul doesn’t seem interested… he is unsuitable for leadership,” said R Jagannathan, the editorial director of Swarajya, to an international news agency.
The only alternative in the Gandhi family seems to be Priyanka Gandhi but her political career is shadowed by her husband, Robert Vadra’s misdeeds in property dealings.
In such a deprecatory situation, should the Nehru-Gandhi party look for face breaking the barriers of nepotism? A major section of Indian political observers and commentators are of the opinion that it is the only way by which Congress can gain back it relevance in the nation’s political picture.
But the biggest problem in transferring power to someone not from the Nehru-Gandhi bloddline could mean even bigger crisis for the party.
SadanandDhume of the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute indicated that without the Gandhi family, Congress would face an identity crisis that could result to complete dissemination of the party that is was formed way back in 1885.
“In theory it makes sense to suggest that Congress should outgrow its reliance on the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. In reality, the family is all that holds the party together. Take it out and Congress collapses like a proverbial house of cards,” Dhume said.
