Those who have been nominated are Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Shashi Tharoor. To Tharoor, Sonia has promised neutrality, but how can that be interpreted when it is a known fact that Gehlot is pretty close to the Gandhis? There sure is going to be the element of bias doing the interplay in the election process ahead because, the party is very well conducting the process of election for the sake of it as the influence of Gandhis is going to be there, no matter who sits in the chair of the party chief. The pressure to have a full-time party chief notched up after the exit of Ghulam Nabi Azad who vehemently criticized the party, especially its top leadership: it was the same that raised serious questions over the internal democracy in the Congress.
If the election is going to be held without bias and the party chief is allowed to work as he should, then, fine, the election would serve its basic purpose, but if the opposite turned out true, then the party will continue making its mockery across the country. The weight here is more on the continued influence of Gandhis in the party and that suggests further deterioration of the age-old political party which has been decimated by its opponent, the BJP. There is little hope on the side that the Congress will become free from Gandhis because the family has a history of having it all for itself and not letting regular growth and expansion of the party leadership—which indeed is capable of doing wonders.
In the present scheme—and the same is going to see no to less change—Congress hardly has anything in it to bounce back as it should have, because, internally, even though it might not be visible, it is trying hard to fill the fissures. The Congress needs to be free from Gandhis while it is craving for leadership that is capable, and whose vision has not blurred over time. The family needs to take an exit now and let the party flourish under the leadership of capable, visionary non-Gandhis—only that might make its revival possible and help in restoring its glory.
