Ashok Choudhary, the new Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee chief, was hand-picked by Rahul Gandhi to revive the almost non-existent Congress unit in the state. In the wake of a political upheaval in Bihar (after the Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party split), he tells Kavita Chowdhury that the Congress sees an opportunity for itself
A couple of days back, the Congress lent a helping hand to Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United), or JD (U) to win the confidence vote in the Bihar Assembly. Why did we see a sudden change in your party's decision?
Congress President Sonia Gandhi took the decision to vote. We are not supporting Kumar - we are merely supporting a secular cause. Earlier, in 2000, we voted against Kumar on the floor of the House when he was the Bihar chief minister. Instead, we had supported Lalu Prasad Yadav. Now that Kumar has stepped out of the National Democratic Alliance, we don't want that the Bharatiya Janata Party or other communal forces become strong in the state.
But isn't there a clear signal that has been sent out to the JD (U)?
It should not be perceived as the Congress is trying for an alliance - as is being said. We are totally open - in the coming future, we will decide whether we will go for an alliance or not. At present, we don't have an alliance with any political party.
When we supported Yadav in 2000, there was a lot of hue and cry, even within our party workers. But we were firm in our stance of secularism.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its members, such as Narendra Modi, pose a threat to the pluralistic ethos of India. Since Kumar has split ties with the BJP and joined our ideology... our thought, we decided to support him on the floor of the House. All secular forces of the country should come together.
Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal is a secular party, too. Moreover, it is an ally of the Congress at the Centre, and supports the United Progressive Alliance from outside.
So what? We are following our ideologies; the Congress is a bigger flagbearer of secularism in Bihar than any other party. Earlier, both Yadav (in 1990) and Kumar (for 17 years) have been aligned with the BJP at some point of time. The Congress might be weak in terms of electoral politics, but we are committed to secularism. So, whether it be Yadav or Kumar coming out of the Modi branding of the BJP, we are with them.
When is the Congress likely to take a decision on its alliance partner for 2014?
It's too premature. We will assess our strengths, and so on. The Antony committee is already looking into the prospect of alliances in different states.
As the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief, what is your assessment of the current political churning in the state?
If you were to reflect on the 2009 Lok Sabha results, the Congress got 16 per cent of the vote share. The JD (U) was at 22 per cent and the BJP at 18 per cent. I think the RJD had 20 per cent. The Congress' vote share is, therefore, very important.
Currently, it's an open field. Nobody has the silver lining of a 37 to 40 per cent vote share; and so, the Congress' vote share is crucial. In the coming days, we need to assess what works for us. There is a perception in our party that we should not form an alliance but fight alone.
At present, I am focussed on who we've got: we've a new general secretary, C P Joshi, who is a former Union minister and former PCC chief. We also have a new secretary, K L Sharma, who was in charge of Amethi and Rae Bareli. This only proves how serious Rahul Gandhi is about strengthening the organisation in Bihar. We want to make a comeback in the state.
Your appointment as the Bihar PCC chief was much talked about, thanks to you being the youngest (45) to have ever been appointed as the chief, and the fact that you belonged to the Maha Dalits segment, which is being wooed by political parties.
See, I have been in the organisation for two decades now. In 1991, I was with the student wing of the Congress, National Students Union of India. My father had been a member of legislative Assembly (MLA) for nine terms; I was an MLA from 2000 to 2005; I have also been the spokesperson for the PCC, and held the posts of secretary and vice-president.
But in a faction-ridden Bihar Congress - with so many senior leaders - it will not be easy to get them to cooperate. In fact, for almost two years, there was no chief, after Mehboob Ali Qaiser. Besides, it has been the hub of intense lobbying...
The positive aspect is that I have worked with everybody through the years. Sadanand Singh was the Congress Legislature Party leader, and is still associated with it. He was the speaker as well. Anil Sharma was the PCC president; I have worked with Ram Chandra Sinha and Vijay Shankar Dubey in the past. I know them very well. Agreed, there were people who wanted to be PCC chiefs, but factionalism exists in every house, and the Congress is a big party. It's a part and parcel of the political system, however, there were some hiccups initially. But when Congress President Sonia Gandhi has taken a decision, the Congress rank and file abide by it.
I believe Rahul Gandhi is taking a personal interest in Bihar. He has set a deadline of July 18.
Yes, ever since Rahul Gandhi took over as the Congress vice-president, he has sent across a clear message that discipline is important in the party. You see... the working of the whole of the Congress is changing. Rahul Gandhi gets in touch with the PCC chief personally. Earlier, there was a communication gap, but now you know what your leader wants. At the end of the day, you are working for your party, so when the leader knows what you are doing and achieving, it's a tremendous confidence-booster. He has set targets for us to achieve.
The deadline of July 18 is for us to complete the task of setting up booth committees of five to 10 people in 47,000 booths in the state. We have managed to finish 50 per cent of the work, and we are on track.
There were some weaknesses in the past. After the Mandal agitation, Yadav, Kumar, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati became the champions of caste politics. The social dynamics had changed, and while they aggressively promoted it, we in the Congress failed to incorporate this vote bank. Hence, it started shifting away from us.
But we are in a corrective mode and we know it will be long haul. Our target is 2014 - the next Assembly polls.
Your appointment has been questioned in several quarters since a criminal case is pending against you - an alleged murder charge.
There is no criminal case pending against me. The police investigation has cleared me and the court accepted it in 2007. The complainant also accepted the same. Vested interests are trying to gain political mileage by raking it up now. Why are they appeal now, after so many years? It ought to serve their political interests.
