Why the Congress party fails

Despite the inconsequence of its opinions on the national discourse, the Congress remains important. So, why does the party consciously choose not to pursue a path that could resurrect it?

Ideology and Organization in Indian Politics: Polarization and the Growing Crisis of the Congress Party (2009-19) 

Author: Zoya Hasan 

Publisher: Oxford University Press 

Pages: 205 

Price: Rs 1,495

The author, a seasoned political scientist who has over several decades witnessed and analysed the lack of sure-footedness in the Congress, has postulated that the Congress party faces a three-pronged challenge: Crisis of leadership, disarray in the organisation and ambiguity over its ideological orientation. In each of these prongs, the once dominant political party is unable to take the position it should have ideally taken. Despite its increasing electoral marginalisation and the inconsequence of its opinions on the national discourse, the Congress remains important, if only for being symbolic of the democratic system, the institutions and the processes of power that were agreed upon after securing independence. Despite these being undermined in recent years, particularly after 2014 when the “Centre of gravity shifted to the Right”, restoration of this set must once again become a national objective.

But, the Congress consciously chooses not to pursue the path that could resurrect it because its principal opponent, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), preemptively belittles such a course. Had it not been for the BJP’s ceaseless campaign against so-labelled “dynastic” parties (while sidestepping the fact that it has the largest share of lawmakers from “political families”), it is possible that Rahul Gandhi may have considered becoming president once again. Whether this would have enabled the party to stage a political comeback is another matter, but the uncertainty that has enveloped the party since 2019 would not have prevailed. Likewise, the party may have been more steadfast in pursuing inclusive nationalism and not dithering to take positions out of fear of being dubbed “pro-Muslim”.

Regardless of efforts it makes periodically, buoying supporters and adversaries of Hindu nationalistic politics alike, the party displays complete absence of consistency. As a result, hopes of the largest opposition party working dynamically as is necessary in any democracy, gets dashed. This book could not have been reviewed more opportunely than now, during the ongoing (non)exercise of “electing” a full-time president. True, it can be argued that any time or period would have been suitable to review this book because the Congress never demonstrated capacity to reverse its slide downwards following the defeat in 2014. Eight and a half years later, the party is nowhere near bouncing back and acting as the pivot around which an opposition front can be strung together for parliamentary elections in 2024.

This book is a sequel to the author’s previous work — Congress After Indira: Policy, Power, Political Change (1984-2009). The time period that is analysed in this book, mentioned within parenthesis, begins with the second successive victory of the United Progressive Alliance in 2009 and concludes with the second successive defeat in 2019. In this decade, the Congress party has faltered like never before and in its wake, the country has unremittingly come under the seductive spell of majoritarian politics.

The book has six chapters besides the Introduction and Conclusion, each tackling a distinct theme and certain time period. The first, “Democratic Reorganization Eludes the Congress Party”, couldn’t have been more topical because the ongoing presidential election is considered the first step to organisational revival. But, the shambolic process underscores that this is yet another ritualistic exercise which must be undergone because of “external” pressure and not due to genuinely felt need. The party remains a mass party “but one without cadres that recruits anyone willing to join it.” What is normal for other parties does not hold true for the Congress. As events show, the hold of the “family” has not been reduced despite the decline in capacity of its members to pull votes. The author argues that important intra-party platforms were undermined consistently over the past decade. For instance, the Congress Working Committee. It was initially the “principal arena where there was constructive dialogue between the national and state party leaders concerning all manner of issues.” In  the absence of intra-party democracy, “accommodation of different groups and interests” has become increasingly difficult.

Although the crisis has roots in the past, the author argues, problems have accentuated due to steady erosion of inner-party institutions, over-centralisation, marginalisation of state leaders who once were instrumental for party flourishing, repeated delays in internal elections and related refusal to reorganise the party. The author notes that Rahul Gandhi attempted to shake up the party apparatus, but he “faced resistance every time he made an attempt to break the grip of the old guard.” These words cannot but ring true while witnessing the manner in which the “system” within the Congress appears heading to seize control with the “election” of Mallikarjun Kharge as party president. The chapter “The Gujarat Model and the Turn to the Right” is an incisive critique of this “model” that “was never very precisely defined.” The author contends that the re-casting of Narendra Modi’s public persona (then chief minister) started with the Vibrant Gujarat summits from 2003 onward, and thereafter built on other developments, including the Nano car project being shifted. The small car did little for the company, but certainly shored up Mr Modi’s career and provided the opportunity to showcase himself as Vikas Purush.

 The Congress party’s ideological ambiguity has been the primary reason for  its inability to counter the Hindu nationalistic viewpoint. The party has failed to re-emerge as a challenger to the twin ideas of authoritarianism (in the garb of strong leader) and communalism. This, the author asserts, has led to India’s diversities increasingly coming under threat and all its minorities— religious, linguistic and region-based— facing an  unprecedented onslaught.

The writer is an NCR-based author and journalist. His latest book is The Demolition and the Verdict: Ayodhya and the Project to Reconfigure India. @NilanjanUdwin