Do nothing, risk nothing, hopefully

With the crucial 8216;8216;semi-final8217;8217; round of Assembly elections less than six weeks away, the Congress is trying hard to com...

With the crucial 8216;8216;semi-final8217;8217; round of Assembly elections less than six weeks away, the Congress is trying hard to come out of the blue phase it is stuck in, but as of now the party leadership appears bereft of any action plan but one 8212; keep things in limbo and hope for the best.

Since its 8216;8216;brainstorming8217;8217; session in Shimla in July, the party has travelled a great distance 8212; and its mostly been downhill. The 8216;8216;feel good8217;8217; factor, so evident at the party8217;s Chief Ministers8217; conclave in Srinagar in May and at the Vichar Manthan Baithak in Shimla, has all but dissipated over the past few weeks.

Party leaders privately admit the Congress has been passing through a season of setbacks but feel that indecision 8212; be it regarding Kerala or Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh or UP 8212; is the best option under the circumstances.

Much of the party8217;s Srinagar and Shimla confidence stemmed from the fact that it had 15 CMs to call its own as opposed to the BJP8217;s two. And that Sonia Gandhi had completed five years at the helm and established her authority. Both these boasts began to unravel within weeks of the Shimla conclave. Partymen might assert that the loss of Arunachal Pradesh was not a real blow since the party had won power though post-poll manoeuvring rather than an electoral win but the fact remains that it brought down the tally of Congress-ruled states from 15 to 14.

That proved a minor loss compared to what unfolded in Kerala and Maharashtra. The rebellion by K. Karunakaran in Kerala not only led to the party candidate8217;s defeat in the Ernakulam bypoll, it eroded the moral authority of the high command.

This humiliation was compounded by the Solapur defeat, which proved to be a foretaste of the bitterness in store in Maharashtra. Just when the party thought its leader8217;s origins had been forgotten by everyone except die-hard saffronites, Sharad Pawar brought it to centrestage, forcing Sonia to go on an emotional offensive.

Then there is the shadow of the chargesheet against Ajit Jogi 8212; not the best armour to don when entering the electoral battlefield, and the continuing differences in the party8217;s UP unit over joining or not joining the Mulayam Singh government.

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On every front, the leadership has decided that inaction is the best policy. The Kerala problem is far from resolved; the tensions with the NCP in Maharashtra are likely to escalate; the UP situation will remain fluid till the BSP takes a decision on alliance partners; and it8217;s too late in the day for the high command to decide on Jogi8217;s fate.

So how will the Congress revive that lost buoyancy, that old confidence that it8217;s only a matter of time before it gets back to being India8217;s 8217;8217;natural party of governance?8217;8217; Ask any party leader and the answer is 8212; 8216;8216;wait for the Assembly election results 8212; that will change everything.8217;8217; Till December 1, party leaders say, Sonia has only one agenda 8212; campaign to retain power in the states going to polls on the slogans of good governance and national unity. Karunakaran and Sharad Pawar, Mulayam and Mayawati 8212; all are on hold, as Congressmen hope against hope instead of putting in place the semblance of a strategy.