More hard talk from Rahul Gandhi, as Congress loses time on the long walk

And Kharge, it seems, is only pleased to oblige.

The timing and tone of Gandhi’s statement in Gujarat surprised many. First of all, the Assembly elections in Gujarat are over two years away. By warning of a possible purge, he may have sown seeds of mistrust and suspicion among the rank and file, many fear.

Plus, Gandhi has made such comments about transforming and restructuring the party – including opening up the organisation to increase representation for women – several times, without anything much coming out of it.

One thing that has changed, though, is that the Congress finds itself at the crossroads again. Just nine months ago, the party was jubilant at the first signs of its electoral revival, winning 99 seats in the Lok Sabha, and, along with INDIA allies, restricting the BJP to below the majority mark. But back-to-back Assembly election defeats in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi have once again pushed the Congress to the wall.

“Gandhi has always called the shots (in the party). But now, it seems, he wants to put his people, most of them young and seen as ideologically strong and incorruptible by him, directly in charge,” a Congress leader said, adding that this also shows his “lack of trust in other leaders”.

Beyond that, however, Gandhi’s efforts remain hampered by characteristic lack of clarity, in terms of organisation, the issues to line up behind, or the general direction of the party. For example, the inability to articulate a credible and clear alternative vision to the BJP, said leaders. Gandhi’s approach remains criticising the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi every step of the way, often on issues that don’t strike a chord with the people.

The first part of the Parliament Budget Session indicated some realisation of this with the Congress and Gandhi toning down their anti-Adani campaign. However, in the two days of the second part of the Session, Gandhi has focused his attention exclusively on “electoral irregularities”, an argument that can come across as a case of sour grapes given the Congress’s string of losses.

While Gandhi’s organisational reshuffle has created a buzz about generational change, it also has many detractors. A large section of the entrenched leadership is squirming at the changes, apart from puzzled over some new appointees. For example, the decision to make relatively lightweight Harshwardhan Sapkal the president of the Maharashtra Congress and putting the inexperienced Krishna Allavaru in charge of poll-bound Bihar, a politically complex state. In private, the Bihar leadership is aghast about the decision to pick Allavaru, who was in-charge of the Youth Congress and is seen as a Gandhi insider.

“It shows the seriousness the Congress leadership gives to Bihar… He (Allavaru) has not been in-charge of any state before and now he has been assigned a state like Bihar, where he will have to deal with veteran Lalu Prasad,” one top leader said. The RJD chief is expected to give ally Congress a run for its money in ticket negotiations.

On Monday, Allavaru along with NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar, who belongs to Bihar and is another Gandhi pick, announced a ‘Palayan Roko, Naukri Do Yatra (Stop Migration, Give Jobs)’ Yatra in Bihar, starting from March 16. State Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Singh was not present.

Among the new appointees, the only one not seen as close to Rahul or to the Gandhi family perhaps is Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain, who is a confidant of Kharge.

Sources said Kharge is not unduly perturbed at Gandhi’s seemingly growing footprint, and that the relationship between the two remains warm and marked by mutual respect. “Kharge knows he is warming the seat for the Gandhis. He is under no illusion. He often says in private that he has been picked by the Gandhis and he will have to honour their decisions,” one leader said.

Sources said there was a possibility of a leadership change in Gujarat next. At least one leader said Gujarat could see a repeat of the Maharashtra experiment and that the names of Jignesh Mevani, a relatively new entrant to the party but a well-regarded Dalit youth leader, and Seva Dal chief Lalji Desai are being talked about.

Another issue on which Congress leaders – and others – are frustrated with Gandhi is the “delay” in decisions, such as on the fate of the INDIA bloc. Even as some allies are sniping at the Congress over this, with parties pulling in different directions over issues, the Congress has displayed its usual nonchalance.

The other unresolved puzzle is the role of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. It is common knowledge that the newest entrant from the Gandhi family in politics wants more responsibilities and a bigger role, but the Wayanad MP continues to be an AICC general secretary without any charge.

A senior leader said the buzz in party circles is that she wants to become the general secretary in-charge, organisation, replacing K C Venugopal. “But Rahul still has blind faith in Venugopal,” the leader said.

“After the Lok Sabha elections, the party was charged up. But now, it is back to square one. We kind of squandered the chance to emerge stronger. We have a knack of not missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” a leader said.