On regional allies, Rahul says one thing, party quite another

Rahul said it was the Congress’s responsibility to protect the institutions and restart the conversation between different religions and castes and between the states which the BJP government is trying to subvert and break. “No regional party will do this. The BJP or the RSS will not do it,” he said.

“Regional parties belong to some caste. They don’t represent everyone,” he said.

Today, India is facing a breakdown of institutions. Our demographic dividend is turning into a demographic disaster. Price rise & Unemployment are rampant.

BJP has systematically destroyed instruments that allow conversations between people.

Our country is in serious trouble. pic.twitter.com/nngUUMZQUX

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 15, 2022

“This battle cannot be fought by a regional party. Because this is a battle of ideology. The ideology of the RSS is fighting against the ideology of the Congress. The BJP will talk about the Congress, its leaders and workers but will not talk about regional parties. Because they know that regional parties have a space but they cannot defeat the BJP because they don’t have an ideology. They have different approaches. We have a centralised approach. And our fight is about ideology,” he said.

The Udaipur declaration adopted by the party, at the same time, said that while the party on its own and through its organisational strength can make inroads and create ground, it was “committed to establish contact and have dialogue with all like-minded parties in the national interest and to save democracy…and keep the options open for alliances wherever necessary according to the political situation”.

Which other political party in this country would allow this type of a conversation?

A conversation where the seniormost leadership is bluntly told without holding back, without any hesitation, what the Congress party feels.

: Shri @RahulGandhi#NavSankalpShivir pic.twitter.com/wCdlLVkeh2

— Congress (@INCIndia) May 15, 2022

It also said the party will establish contact and engage with all social, cultural, NGOs, trade unions, think-tanks and civil society groups.

The shivir saw leaders expressing divergent opinions on the question of alliances. While many favoured it, some argued the party should go alone as alliances over the years have crippled the organisation in many states. This contradiction and confusion perhaps reflected in Rahul’s speech and the declaration as well.