The Bharatiya Janata Party’s emphatic victory in the August 12 civic elections in Madhya Pradesh should serve as a timely warning to the Congress leadership which has been so busy taking on the Modi government at the Centre that it has turned a blind eye to the raging factionalism in the party’s state units.
The BJP’s win is particularly galling for the Congress which had raised the pitch on the Vyapam scandal and had held up proceedings in the recently-concluded monsoon session of Parliament to demand Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s resignation.
The BJP emerged victorious in eight of the 10 civic bodies. Not just that, it succeeded in dethroning the Congress in five civic bodies, putting Chouhan in an unassailable position.
Organisational issues
The Congress party’s inability to cash in on the Vyapam scam has once again shown that its Madhya Pradesh state unit is hamstrung by a non-existent organisation, poor leadership and bitter infighting. This malaise is not confined to Madhya Pradesh alone. The grand old party’s organisation is in shambles in virtually all states but the Congress leadership appears to be doing little to put its own house in order.
Ever since Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi returned from his mysterious sabbatical four months ago in a new aggressive avatar, he has been on the warpath against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government. Although his belligerent campaign against the ruling alliance on the land acquisition bill proved successful as it forced the Modi government to backtrack on the contentious legislation, it has done little to revive the Congress or improve its prospects.
In fact, there is a growing view in the party that it was too early to up the ante against the NDA government which still has four years in office. According to a former Congress minister, the party’s high-decibel campaign appears to suggest that the next Lok Sabha election is round the corner. “We all know what the result will be if a general election was to be held now,” he added.'
“Instead of focussing all his energies on pinning down the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi should concentrate on strengthening the party. He can only prove his credentials if he can win an election and at present, the party is in no shape to face such a challenge,” remarked another senior Congress leader.
While the Congress is well aware that it is a bit player in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the party believes it can bounce back in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana where it is pitted directly against the BJP.
Madhya Pradesh
But the results of the civic elections in Madhya Pradesh have demonstrated that this is not an easy task. Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders pointed out that the party organisation here is non-existent while the infighting between former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and former Union ministers from the state Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia has killed any possibility of the party’s revival. The Vyapam scandal provided the Congress an excellent opportunity to discredit the three-term Madhya Pradesh chief minister but to little avail.
“If Rahul Gandhi is serious about strengthening the party in Madhya Pradesh, he should appoint Digvijaya Singh or Scindia as state presidents and ask them to camp in the state…you cannot hope to strengthen the party by staying put in Delhi,” remarked a Congress leader.
Punjab
The Congress can hope to dethrone the Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab which goes to polls in 2017 but only if it is able to resolve the leadership crisis in the state.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh, who commands sizeable support in the state unit, has been openly gunning for the present Punjab Congress president Pratap Singh Bajwa. Amarinder Singh has petitioned the party leadership for Bajwa’s removal several times but it is learnt that Rahul Gandhi is not inclined to give in to the former chief minister’s threats. As a result, there is widespread speculation that Amarinder Singh is being wooed by the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal who have suggested that he could either join them or form his own party.
“We have an excellent chance of trouncing the Akalis in the next assembly election…there is widespread anger against the present government. But this will only be possible if we are able to get our act together,” remarked a former Congress Union minister.
Rajasthan
Like Punjab, the Congress state unit in Rajasthan is also wracked by factionalism. Rahul Gandhi took a bold step when he appointed the young Sachin Pilot as the Pradesh Congress committee president after the party was mauled in the 2013 assembly polls and the general elections next year. But Pilot is being given a rough time by his senior colleagues – former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former Union minister CP Joshi.
As a result, the aggressive campaign launched by the Congress after Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s name surfaced in the Lalit Modi controversy soon petered out as the various factions in the party have been pulling in different directions. Initially discomfited by Lalitgate, Raje is now breathing easy. “We don’t to worry too much as the Congress in our state is hopelessly divided … there is the Pilot Congress, Gehlot Congress and Joshi Congress,” said a BJP leader from Rajasthan.
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The BJP’s win is particularly galling for the Congress which had raised the pitch on the Vyapam scandal and had held up proceedings in the recently-concluded monsoon session of Parliament to demand Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s resignation.
The BJP emerged victorious in eight of the 10 civic bodies. Not just that, it succeeded in dethroning the Congress in five civic bodies, putting Chouhan in an unassailable position.
Organisational issues
The Congress party’s inability to cash in on the Vyapam scam has once again shown that its Madhya Pradesh state unit is hamstrung by a non-existent organisation, poor leadership and bitter infighting. This malaise is not confined to Madhya Pradesh alone. The grand old party’s organisation is in shambles in virtually all states but the Congress leadership appears to be doing little to put its own house in order.
Ever since Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi returned from his mysterious sabbatical four months ago in a new aggressive avatar, he has been on the warpath against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government. Although his belligerent campaign against the ruling alliance on the land acquisition bill proved successful as it forced the Modi government to backtrack on the contentious legislation, it has done little to revive the Congress or improve its prospects.
In fact, there is a growing view in the party that it was too early to up the ante against the NDA government which still has four years in office. According to a former Congress minister, the party’s high-decibel campaign appears to suggest that the next Lok Sabha election is round the corner. “We all know what the result will be if a general election was to be held now,” he added.'
“Instead of focussing all his energies on pinning down the Modi government, Rahul Gandhi should concentrate on strengthening the party. He can only prove his credentials if he can win an election and at present, the party is in no shape to face such a challenge,” remarked another senior Congress leader.
While the Congress is well aware that it is a bit player in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the party believes it can bounce back in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana where it is pitted directly against the BJP.
Madhya Pradesh
But the results of the civic elections in Madhya Pradesh have demonstrated that this is not an easy task. Madhya Pradesh Congress leaders pointed out that the party organisation here is non-existent while the infighting between former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and former Union ministers from the state Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia has killed any possibility of the party’s revival. The Vyapam scandal provided the Congress an excellent opportunity to discredit the three-term Madhya Pradesh chief minister but to little avail.
“If Rahul Gandhi is serious about strengthening the party in Madhya Pradesh, he should appoint Digvijaya Singh or Scindia as state presidents and ask them to camp in the state…you cannot hope to strengthen the party by staying put in Delhi,” remarked a Congress leader.
Punjab
The Congress can hope to dethrone the Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab which goes to polls in 2017 but only if it is able to resolve the leadership crisis in the state.
Former chief minister Amarinder Singh, who commands sizeable support in the state unit, has been openly gunning for the present Punjab Congress president Pratap Singh Bajwa. Amarinder Singh has petitioned the party leadership for Bajwa’s removal several times but it is learnt that Rahul Gandhi is not inclined to give in to the former chief minister’s threats. As a result, there is widespread speculation that Amarinder Singh is being wooed by the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal who have suggested that he could either join them or form his own party.
“We have an excellent chance of trouncing the Akalis in the next assembly election…there is widespread anger against the present government. But this will only be possible if we are able to get our act together,” remarked a former Congress Union minister.
Rajasthan
Like Punjab, the Congress state unit in Rajasthan is also wracked by factionalism. Rahul Gandhi took a bold step when he appointed the young Sachin Pilot as the Pradesh Congress committee president after the party was mauled in the 2013 assembly polls and the general elections next year. But Pilot is being given a rough time by his senior colleagues – former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and former Union minister CP Joshi.
As a result, the aggressive campaign launched by the Congress after Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje’s name surfaced in the Lalit Modi controversy soon petered out as the various factions in the party have been pulling in different directions. Initially discomfited by Lalitgate, Raje is now breathing easy. “We don’t to worry too much as the Congress in our state is hopelessly divided … there is the Pilot Congress, Gehlot Congress and Joshi Congress,” said a BJP leader from Rajasthan.