The growing Rahul Gandhi problem of the Congress

by Guest Sat May 06, 2017 9:18 pm

Apart from a solitary 2009 win in Uttar Pradesh, Gandhi has been unable to win a single election for the congress. Yet the party has never held him accountable. State chiefs such as Raj Babbar after the UP debacle, Sanjay Nirupam after the Mumbai rout, Maken after the Delhi crisis all offered their resignations, but the buck never stops with Gandhi.

So much so that the party currently resembles a cult devoted to protecting one family. On the condition of anonymity, a Congress leader complained, "We have one job - that is that no blame should ever fall on the family"....

A senior Congress leader who asked not to be named, vented, "At least Modi takes decisions, whether good or bad is debatable, but he is perceived as decisive. What kind of leader is Rahul? He hops from issue to issue. One day he says he will burst Modi's bubble on corruption in demonetization and is unable to come up with any proof. We got Prashant Kishor on board in UP, yet listened to none of his advice. The BJP has already kicked off (its campaign) in Gujarat, we still don't even have a strategy in place. If Rahul had not upset Himanta Biswa Sarma by treating him with utter contempt, we would have won Assam. That win truly gave the BJP unbeatable momentum."...

"The Gandhis only seem comfortable with time-servers such as Mohan Prakash, a Rahul favourite, who comfortably coast from defeat to defeat. Yet, if you hold an AICC session today, everyone will support Gandhi and demands will be made to make him President. It's time that he woke up and realised that either he should provide leadership or get out of the way. The party will keep losing elections, yet the Gandhi grip is such that it (the party) will still not revolt. Leaders who care about their future will just walk out," said a Congress leader. Even Digvijaya Singh concedes "we need strong regional leadership", a point made also by Amarinder Singh who won Punjab for the party.

Apart from the crisis of leadership, the Congress lacks a convincing narrative, a story the people want to hear. Gandhi has blindly opposed Modi on everything, yet never told India what he stands for or what the party believes in.

http://www.ndtv.com/opinion/the-growing-rahul-gandhi-problem-of-the-congress-1688929