Opinion: Congress inches close to ‘Disaster’
All is not well in the Congress Party. ‘Groupism’ is the evil that pushes the Grand Old Party close to disaster. That evil is everywhere. It already brought down the party in Karnataka and Goa. All state units are equally vulnerable to this manic. Madhya Pradesh and Haryana may feel its heat soon. The spark has already been put in these states.
The root of the issue lies in the organisational structure of the party. Unlike most other political parties in the country, the Congress is a mass party. It gives enormous freedom to its workers, unlike those follow the cadre system. The system the Congress flows is a double edged sward.
Like how the system has contributed the party to grow, the same has contributed for its fall as well. The same system which has enabled the party to attract many to its pocket has contributed for the departure of many from its pocket.
The preset Congress is not as visionary as how it was during the Independence era. It gives little attention to the matters concerning the development of the party as a whole. The fault lies in its leadership. Recently, its leadership itself admitted that some of its leaders were only interested in personal gains at the time the party was going through the test of survival.
In Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia is unhappy. His complaint is that he has been sidelined purposefully. He wants the state president post. Actually, he deserves it. It is ‘groupism’ which stands between Mr Scindia and his state president post.
Similar issue exists in Haryana. In this state which is just days away from a crucial election, a former CM is the centre of crisis. What Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda wants there is a change of leadership in the state. He is less likely to settle for anything less. He has already done a show of strength in the state. There also, the root of the crisis is ‘groupism’.
If the things progress like this, it will not take too long to repeat in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh what happened in Karnataka and Goa.
For the Congress, it is difficult to do any serious experiments with its structure, especially at the time the party is in a bad state. But, some simple, harmless, changes can be made.
Bringing an elected leader in the top can easily solve many problems which the Independence era party now addresses. The same is applicable in the state level also. The best way to revive the party is through the path of democracy.
Values come naturally to the party along with democracy. The moment it seizes to exist as a family party, it steps back to the path of true revival. In that sense, what Rahul Gandhi demonstrated with his resignation from the top post is the right path.
The Congress is the future. It is only through this Old Party true liberation is possible. But, the path towards that is not simple.
Vignesh. S. G
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