Opinion No confidence motion
Choosing an old-timer over the winner of its Vadodara primary, the Congress undermines itself
Choosing an old-timer over the winner of its Vadodara primary, the Congress undermines itself.
The one idea that Rahul Gandhi repeats at every opportunity is that of “opening up the system”, by which he usually means the rank and file of the party choosing candidates through primary elections. These could, in concept, have a radical effect, reducing intrigue and wheeling dealing, making the party more responsive to their constituencies rather than to special interests, and above all, making local leaders realise that they can make their way up as high as they aspire.
The Congress held a small set of primaries across India this time, and wound up with both established leaders and new candidates who had no other clout but their talent. So then why is it that at a moment when this process is truly tested, the Congress abandons its commitment to primaries?
The Vadodara primary election threw up a new leader, Narendra Kumar Rawat. But he wasn’t judged good enough to take on the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi. Instead, the Congress replaced him with Madhusudan Mistry, a man who was defeated from Sabarkantha in 2009, but enjoys the confidence of the Gandhi coterie.
Mistry has already been chosen for the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat, and has no skin in the game. He is merely playing “Modi-Modi”, making a big show of taking on the Congress’s biggest adversary. From his perspective and the Congress’s, this is a no-risk strategy.
But making that cautious judgement call, and aiming for a more respectable loss by fielding Mistry, the party has failed its own grassroots leader. These primaries were meant as a small beginning of a large transformation — to show party workers that they could be trusted to elect the best contender.
But with this arbitrary action, the Congress leadership has shown a lack of faith in the process, signalled that the high command can swoop in and change ticket distribution in favour of the better-connected “heavyweight”. It even gave Modi a chance to defend Rawat, attacking the party for passing over a deserving Dalit candidate. In terms of sheer optics, the Congress has lost in Vadodara even before it has lost.
Share
