Rahul Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi… 5 reasons Congress sank in Delhi

Congress’ third consecutive abysmal performance in Delhi assembly elections has its roots in a directionless, uninspiring top leadership.

Rahul Gandhi getting felicitated at campaign rally in Delhi | Suraj SIngh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Congress’ abysmal show in the Delhi assembly elections — its third consecutive poor performance in the city-state — has its roots in one overarching reason: A directionless and uninspiring top leadership has meant the party almost sat this election out, with no effective campaign, incoherent messaging and disinterested voters.

While the Congress performance is being portrayed by some as a ‘tactical retreat’ to bury the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) chances, it only goes to show its own prospects were so weak that it had no fighting chance in the first place. In fact, Sheshadri Chari — former editor of RSS mouthpiece Organiser, hinted at this deliberate Congress strategy during a discussion on NDTV 24×7.

The top command’s lack of interest and push in recent assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand only goes to show Delhi isn’t an aberration or necessarily a deliberate strategy to sit it out, as some are attempting to project.

As of 11.30am, the Congress is not leading in any of Delhi’s 70 assembly segments. In the 2015 elections, the party won no seats, down from the eight it won in the December 2013 polls.

Such is the lack of confidence in the party that its candidate from Vikaspuri — Mukesh Sharma — conceded defeat even as only postal ballots were being counted.

मैं अपनी हार स्वीकार करते हुए, विकासपुरी विधानसभा क्षेत्र के सभी मतदाताओं व कांग्रेस कार्यकर्ताओं का आभार व्यक्त करता हूं और आशा करता हूं कि क्षेत्र का चौमुखी विकास होगा।

मैं भविष्य में भी दिल्ली, विकासपुरी व उत्तम नगर विधानसभा क्षेत्र के चौमुखी विकास के लिए लड़ाई लड़ता रहूंगा।

— Mukesh Sharma (@MukeshSharmaMLA) February 11, 2020

 

Here are the five reasons why the Congress has been decimated in Delhi — a state that was its strength and one that it ruled for three successful terms under late Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Rahul Gandhi — presiding over a steep fall

Rahul Gandhi may no longer be at the helm, but his term as Congress chief saw a complete decline in the party’s electoral and political fortunes.

After the humiliating drubbing in the 2013 December assembly polls, Rahul Gandhi had promised to bring changes one “can’t even imagine”. And imagine one couldn’t — with the party down to just 44 Lok Sabha seats in the general election that followed in 2014, barely managing to make any gains in 2019 when it won 52 seats.

His association as the party’s face has only boomeranged, with voters reluctant to elect the Congress with him as the leader. The story has been different in states where the party has a strong local leadership, which has inspired voter confidence. But when not, the idea of Rahul Gandhi as the face seems to have not been palatable to voters.

In Delhi, the former Congress president addressed around four rallies, as did his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

Rahul Gandhi — frequent absences

It’s often difficult to figure if Rahul Gandhi’s presence is more harmful to the party or his absence. But for any political outfit to have a leader in-absentia — as unpopular as he may be among voters — is hugely demoralising for the party cadre and workers.

Rahul Gandhi’s frequent trips to unknown destinations has led to a rudderless party, demotivated workers and nobody to really set goals or a coherent strategy.

Rahul Gandhi — inability to establish ground connect

The one main reason why the BJP has surged ahead and the Congress has been nationally embarrassed is because its top command has failed to raise issues that resonate among voters.

So, the ‘chowkidar chor hai‘ jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi backfired in the Lok Sabhs polls, and Rahul Gandhi’s pet campaign theme — Rafale — found zero traction.

This translated into the Delhi elections as well. The Congress couldn’t mount any effective campaign and raised no issue that would make voters actually sit up and take notice. While candidates can only do so much, it is the party’s main faces that set the agenda and tone — like Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah did with Shaheen Bagh, the new citizenship law and the entire ‘us versus them’ narrative.

Rahul Gandhi — reluctance to develop local leadership

One big failure has been the absence of strong local leaderships across. In states where the leadership already existed — Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan — the party has shown results.

But Rahul Gandhi has not quite done his bit in helping local leaders establish themselves. Delhi is a prime example. Dikshit was a much-loved, popular leader but she was tossed around randomly between Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Moreover, nobody was groomed to step into her shoes, especially following former Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken’s ill-health.

With no leader at the helm, the party has seen a pulled-down campaign and presence.

Rahul Gandhi — poor internal management

If at the national level Rahul Gandhi has allowed this old guard versus new guard battle to play out, in states he has been unable to curb infighting.

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — with the Kamal Nath-Jyotiraditya Scindia and Ashok Gehlot-Sachin Pilot rivalries — are key examples. These states, however, managed to save themselves because the regional leaders were effective and had a mass base.

In Haryana, if it weren’t for unnecessary rivalries and Rahul’s inability to note the importance of giving an experienced, rooted leader like Bhupinder Singh Hooda a free hand, the Congress could have well managed to form the government.

In Delhi, there was no leader, and rampant infighting. When the Congress performed miserably in 2013, the Delhi unit saw growing factionalism. Prominent Congress leaders like Arvinder Singh Lovely and A.K. Walia quit the party. It was Maken who managed to bring Lovely back to the fold in 2018, but by then it was way too late and internal friction had raised its ugly head.