Rahul Gandhi’s 4Rs Rework Rebuild Rejuvenate Resurrect by RKB
After the hammering the Congress Party experienced in the recently concluded Maharashtra elections I had expected the Party would have gone into a huddle to work out what happened
What has the Congress Party leadership in Maharashtra done so far?
Zilch. Zero. Nothing
Apart from retiring the redoubtable Nana Patole as President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and replacing him with Harshvardhan Sapkal, there is no new direction in the party
In Mumbai Varsha Gaekwad continues as President of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee where her focus is totally on the huge Dharavi slum redevelopment plan by Gautam Adani
However Gaekwad has begun a street corner campaign against corruption in the BMC (Mumbai’s ultra-rich Municipality) where perfectly good roads are being dug up to be relaid again only so contractors can be paid again and again
At least some movement on the ground there from the MRCC
However again all the Mumbai Congress stalwarts are conspicuous by their absence; everyone seems to have decided this is Varsha Gaekwad’s programme and they have no dog in the fight
So the usual suspects are just not there…
What are they waiting for ?
A miracle?
The Star of Bethlehem?
For a messiah to be born?
And then there is the usual infighting
Most Mumbai Congress leaders we speak to say Varshatai only promotes and talks to Dalits and maybe some Muslims
Rest might as well not exist
I have not spoken to Varsha Gaekwad yet
But this seems like a good enough strategy
Do remember the Congress ruled India for over 45+ years with the then unbeatable formula of a Brahmin-Dalit-Muslim combination loyal to whosoever led the party from Jawaharlal Nehru to Shastri to Indira Gandhi to Rajiv Gandhi
It took Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao to break and destroy that brilliant combination to leave Congress clutching at straws and well…allies!
Having seen the Congress at close quarters I would still say forget alliances; forget deal making
Go ALONE!
You may lose, and lose again
But you are losing even now!
So really you don’t lose anything
However what you do gain is a rejuvenated party and a vote share that will climb up because you will fight more seats!
Rework Rebuild Rejuvenate Resurrect
4 Rs
That should be Mr R namely Rahul Gandhi’s strategy
Forget winning or losing elections
Get the Congress back on its feet the way Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Purhottam Lal Tandon, Asif Ali, Rafiq Ahmad Kidwai, Kamaraj and yes even Morarji Desai and Nijalingappa did …
Devraj Urs, Siddhartha Shankar Ray, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad even H N Bahuguna
Find the modern equivalents of these stalwarts
Turn the party into a huge force for social change
Don’t compromise on basic principles that built your party
Forget winning or losing elections
Have a 5 year plan
Watch how all old Congressmen and new recruits will flock to you
And you have that model in front of you
It’s Mahatma Gandhi’s struggles with himself and against the British
It’s in B R Ambedkar’s fight for upliftment of all Dalits and other oppressed classes
It’s in Ram Manohar Lohia’s social upliftment plan
But do it
And do it now
If you just focus on elections you will keep losing and losing
That’s where the Modi led BJP are masters of all they survey
Change the battleground
Return to the people!
