Fear of friction

Two clear lobbies

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi ’s resignation as Congress president was supposed to end the debate whether the Gandhis will actually relinquish stewardship of the party. But it ended up stoking a fresh one at a time when defections in Karnataka and Goa point to a crisis more fundamental than just a painful poll defeat. Is Congress really moving away from the Gandhi family, as the intense search for Rahul’s replacement would suggest? Or, will it just be a change of form, with a Gandhi returning to helm the party after this interim measure?Three developments catch the eye. The day Rahul Gandhi released his four-page farewell letter making his resignation irrevocable, his aides were quick to inform that he will personally appear in over 20 defamation cases filed against him by RSS-BJP leaders across the country.He started the next day at a Mumbai court and has since been to Patna and Ahmedabad. At the Congress Working Committee two days after the May 23 Lok Sabha defeat where he first announced his decision to step down, Rahul said he had waged a lone battle against the Sangh parivar , virtually arguing he wants to be free of administrative chores to revive Congress.At a gathering of MPs on June 26, Rahul said he would work for the party “10 times harder” than before. This comes while the search for a new president, with a limited pool of choices, appears to be veering towards a veteran. To view the outgoing chief ’s political intent in conjunction with a veteran taking charge does suggest a mere change of form — the nuts and bolts of organisational work would be for the new president while the public face, in the long-term, would be a Gandhi.The possibility of this diarchy remains strong as Congress moves into unchartered territory of a non-Gandhi at the helm despite three members of the first family active in politics. Though the link has been disrupted, Congress has held that its president (a Gandhi more likely than not) is or will be prime minister. The Manmohan Singh-Sonia arrangement was the exception as she declined the job. Cutting across factions and individuals, the sentiment is that the Gandhis are not going anywhere.Curiously, a Congress insider, who has sounded out some potential candidates for the top job, revealed that there was not much interest for what should be seen as a prized post. Some old-timers are “strong loyalists”, uneasy about stepping into the shoes of a Gandhi while others don’t want to be in a position where they have to seek approval of “three residences” for every decision.The possibility of Rahul and Priyanka playing outsize roles will worry any incumbent. There remains the other possibility — that a new president may begin to exercise powers assertively. Both scenarios point to friction.Meanwhile, the party organisation in the states is folding up. The defection of 10 Goa MLAs, eight of them Catholics, is a case in point with many pointing to the ineptness of the state in-charge A Chellakumar.The political logic of the alliance with JD(S) in Karnataka to halt BJP has taken a beating with the saffron party taking 25 of 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.In this scenario, who should head Congress? Opinion in the party is divided. One bloc believes the matter should be settled keeping age in mind: so, either it should back a veteran or opt for a GenNext leader. The other bloc feels it should be on the lines of identity, suggesting either a primacy for backward classes or upper castes. Ironically, the “new vs old” clash was brought out in the open by a septuagenarian, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh The irrepressible chief minister set the cat among the pigeons, saying Congress needs to replace Rahul with a young leader who can “galvanise” the party. Singh was only giving vent to the sentiments of a strong section that believes it is time Congress moves away from “tokenism of experience and caste” and hands over the reins to a public face who can capture the imagination of the people.The “tokenism” alludes to the fact that at least three front-runners for AICC top job are veteran Dalit leaders above 70. The pro-young lobby, incidentally, is close to Rahul Gandhi and first shot into limelight as “Rahul’s team” during the UPA decade of 2004 to 2014.“The challenge to Congress is so serious that either the party reinvents itself or everyone retires and forgets about politics. It is an existential moment,” said a former Union minister.According to a GenNext member, the choice is simple: can Congress soften the public cynicism towards the party by appearing to turn the page with the honest choice of a leader who comes without any baggage? But the Congress party establishment — wizened faces and wise heads — appears to believe that it is time to consolidate and “take everyone along”.They argue that young age is not necessarily a magnet to attract the youth, pointing out that the entire party Gen-Next bit the dust in these Lok Sabha elections. The choice of a veteran is backed by regional satraps who believe an old hand would give freedom to state leaders. There is the possibility of a compromise on an “inter-generational” leader. But it would be yet another compromise.