The unease in the Congress appears to have intensified over the question of leadership and the majority of party workers and leaders want Rahul Gandhi at the helm without any further delay.
The recent Assembly election results and the people’s uprising against the changes in the citizenship law have convinced several Congress leaders that the discontent against Narendra Modi government needed to be exploited to the hilt and that cannot be done without clarity on leadership.
They feel that Sonia Gandhi, whose tenure at the top is a stop-gap arrangement, cannot be the future of the party and a full-fledged president should take over at the earliest.
While Rahul has kept off the political affairs of the party and chose to behave solely like the Wayanad MP, the fact that his importance in the organisational structure had not diminished despite his resignation has created a piquant situation.
Leaders chosen by him continue to call the shots in the party and even appointments or choice of ministers in Maharashtra reflect his choices. Most state and central leaders treat him in the same way they did when he was party president.
Although few Congress workers and leaders have expressed any doubt that Rahul was the only option, a small section of senior leaders is not impressed by the idea of such a quick reversal of his undesirable retreat. “He resigned in July, rejecting the unanimous appeal by the party to continue. It is barely five months and his return will doubtless be projected as drama. We should be careful about the political fallout,” a senior leader said.
But an overwhelming majority, particularly younger leaders and ordinary party workers, believes this uncertainty was playing havoc with the revival process and deepened the perception of a rudderless Opposition.
“Rahul continues to be the supreme leader. His reluctance and frequent absence from the political battlefield creates confusion and controversies. We all know the battle is not easy and even a day’s loss is a criminal waste of time,” said a young leader considered close to Rahul.
This leader added: “We all know Rahul is the only leader who can take on the Modi-Shah regime. To counter them, the country needs a leader who is fearless and a man of integrity. Rahul fought valiantly in the 2019 parliamentary election. Even in the past few months after quitting as party president, he has clearly signalled he can break but won’t bend. Money, muscle and false propaganda can’t deter him. He must return, sooner the better.”
While the younger lot is impatient to see Rahul back, the seniors are also confident of his return next year but they expect a process to complete the formalities.
There is speculation about Rahul’s return in March 2020 after the Delhi election. But that looks unlikely for two reasons: One, nobody knows Rahul’s mind yet; two, his re-election can happen only at the Congress plenary which will be called after the completion of a membership drive.
The dominant view is that the Congress plenary can be called only around May-June. Some leaders believe that Sonia’s resignation as interim president can pave way for Rahul’s return and his appointment can later be ratified by the plenary. But that is unlikely to happen as the party may not like to give out an impression of desperation.
Sonia, who has not made drastic changes in the organisation, has given indications that she was not willing to continue for long.
Party leaders feel this issue has to be resolved before the critical elections in Bihar later next year. The party organisation has to be restructured and made ready to face the big electoral battles coming in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bengal.
They feel that the fact that Rahul is the supreme leader but not the functional head had created an avoidable gap in the command structure and the level of his engagement in political affairs.
While he led the party from the front in the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Karnataka as party president, his involvement in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand was nominal. This triggered allegations that the Congress was piggybacking on allies instead of putting its best foot forward.
Almost every political observer had felt that the Congress did not mount a serious fight in Maharashtra, leaving Sharad Pawar to lead the battle against the BJP alone.