Prashant Kishor can't make Congress win UP. Rahul Gandhi won't
As June 19, Rahul Gandhi's birthday, approaches and speculation mounts on his celebration plans, insiders are abuzz that's he all set to fly off abroad.
Again. Outside the family cult that the Congress now resembles, people wonder what does he have to celebrate?
Appointing Kamalnath, allegedly involved in the 1984 riots, as the Punjab election campaign in-charge seems to be a self-goal of mammoth proportions.
A Congress leader says, "We needed somebody who's smart and savvy, a player who can raise funds to fulfil Prashant Kishor's grandiose plans. We never thought it would cause the reaction it has with Kejriwal and even the Akalis latching on and making a it a huge issue."
And, that's the trouble with the Congress: it seems to have lost its political smarts.
As leaders desert in droves, it lurches around in a seemingly headless implosion. What started with Himanta Biswa Sarma who blamed Gandhi's short attention span and love for his dog, seems to have turned in to a deluge with Ajit Jogi - a controversial but durable Gandhi family loyalist - and Gurudas Kamat from Maharashtra also joining the exit line.
And, Rahul continues with his accidental-tourist-in-occasional-politics routine, and his what-me-worry stance is causing huge concern within the party.
The exodus has begun. Despite Sonia Gandhi personally telling BS Hooda to stop playing games he led a "pen rebellion" in the recent Rajya Sabha elections.
Something that was unimaginable even months ago. And, except for crying sabotage, the party seems incapable of even disciplining him as it fears a split in its Haryana unit.
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| Prashant Kishor. (PTI) |
Far from the large-scale "surgery" promised, you have the causal sticking of band-aids on a gaping wound - the appointment of Nath and Azad as UP in-charge. The last UP in-charge, Shakeel Ahmed, perhaps, inspired by Rahul, has gone off after applying for leave for two months to the USA!
Azad already has the onerous task of managing Parliament and giving him the critical UP charge seems to imply that Gandhi has shirked the onus of presidency once again. And, yet another holding operation has been imposed on a restive party.
Party insiders are extremely upset that they are never consulted and literally have to read tea leaves to find out what's being planned by the family.
Even the not-so-young baba log brigade of RG's generation has been left languishing on the shelf. They can't take the plunge till the leader does.
So what miracles can Kishor, who is a self-confessed "ideology agnostic," perform? The only miracle at the minute seems to be that he's ensured that the entire Gandhi family is enthused by him and trusts him.
A minor miracle in itself.
But, the family loyalists whisper that the new advisors actually are a Trojan horse who want the downfall of the Gandhi's. Certainly, Kishor has a huge budget and the party is badly strapped for cash.
Hence Kamalnath who despite, being a nine-term MP was overlooked for the leader of the house, has been pressed in to service.
Whether Modi or Nitish Kumar even Lalu Prasad Yadav, Kishor has always worked with obsessive committed leaders who treat their careers as a 24/7 project, Gandhi is obviously not cut from quite that mould.
Says a senior leader who has been active since the time of Indira Gandhi and worked with the entire family wistfully, "RG is a very decent person. He's very understanding but lacks the political instinct that even his mother has."
The Congress party clutched at a brief hope that RG had arrived as a leader when he made his famous "suit boot ki sarkar" interjection and put Modi on the backfoot. But, that was it - a brief flowering.
Perception matters and what Gandhi is passionately committed to remains a mystery to even his party. After all, the only job a political party has is to win elections and despite, being down to 44 in the Lok Sabha, the leisurely slide into oblivion continues.
Apparently, Priyanka Gandhi, who has huge apprehensions about the party imploding, is now an active decision-maker. She sits in all strategy meetings and is in daily touch with Kishor who is planning UP campaign with her.
Kishor has already told her about the dismal state of the Congress' communication across all mediums and given a road map on how to change the lazy and arrogant image.
But, is this laziness, entitlement and arrogance just an image? Or, reflective of the reality of the Congress today?
As Gandhi celebrates his birthday, he should ponder on the fact that India needs a decent Opposition and it's time that he either provided it or made way for someone who can.