INC, Needs President Not A “Puppet”

Congress has spoken: neither Mallikarjun Kharge nor Shashi Tharoor has got the endorsement for the party president election, and both the leaders were in the contest in their capacity. The party’s Central Election Authority (CEA) in this regard has issued the necessary guidelines in the shape of a code of conduct, barring the office-bearers from campaigning for any of the candidates, aiming to ensure transparency in the conduct of the election set to be held for the first time since 2000 when Sonia Gandhi was elected as the party chief, defeating Jitendra Prasada. However, back then, the slant of the party was quite obvious; it wanted Mrs. Gandhi elevated to the position, which happened eventually just like what it wanted to do when Ashok Gehlot was set to contest in place of Kharge.

The Gehlot episode led to several things. By putting his name up for the contest, Congress categorically sent out a message—which it was not intending to—that it would want a loyalist to become the party chief and one didn’t need a degree in political science to understand what Congress was trying to do by putting Gehlot ahead. But Gehlot had his plans that caused a crisis within the party. Now that the party has come up with clear-cut directions on no candidate having the “endorsement,” it is an attempt to project that it would be okay with anyone becoming the party chief, however, the matters are not so plain, rather in reality, the top leadership, which continues to be in the hands of Gandhis, would, at any cost, prefer to have a man of their liking which Tharoor isn’t. And that leaves out only Kharge. On the contrary, regarding the contest between Kharge and Tharoor, Gehlot has already termed it a one-sided contest in favor of Kharge—once again pointing towards his inclination and him being another Gandhi loyalist.

So much fuss for an election that was ideally supposed to be held regularly for ensuring a lively, and rot-less party, but what has become of the internal democracy within the party is visible through the turn of events witnessed almost every day. It all comes down to the principles that should govern everything, but as of now, it is clear that the Gandhis are all in for the party democracy, which is gathering dust, to flourish, but they would prefer to stay where they are. They would want to have a new party chief, but at the same time, the final nod concerning key decisions will come from the Gandhis: and this is not how it is supposed to work. Gandhis need to let it happen in an unbiased manner for the very survival of the age-old Congress party. Having a President who is not a “puppet” is what the party needs and that is like a do-or-die situation at hand!