The Congress party is on the brink of losing national relevance after being wiped out in all five states in the recently concluded 2022 Assembly elections. While Rahul Gandhi is still considering this embarrassing defeat as a ‘learning experience’, the party loyalists and allies are visibly upset with Congress’ disastrous performance in the assembly elections in five states including Punjab where the party had been in power.
According to a report by The New Indian Express, disgruntled by Congress’ poll debacle, the Muslim League and Revolutionary Socialist Party of Kerala (RSP), parties that are an integral part of the Congress-led-United Democratic Front (UDF) are contemplating switching to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) camp.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the other being Congress-led UDF, each of which has been in power alternately for the last four decades.
Furthermore, senior members of the party are convinced that the party requires organisational leadership reform in order to remain relevant. ‘Change or it will be the endgame,’ was the common refrain from many party bigwigs after Congress’ Thursday’s nightmare.
The discontent among leaders and workers was reflected in the response of Congress senior leader and MP Shashi Tharoor, also a member of the G-23, a group of dissident Congress leaders who have been advocating a tectonic shift in the leadership for the last two years.
After Congress’ crushing defeat in all 5 states, Tharoor Tweeted on Thursday, “One thing is clear — change is unavoidable if we need to succeed.” In a series of two Tweets, the Congress MP gave a piece of important advice after the grand old party’s free fall.
He said, “All of us who believe in @INCIndia are hurting from the results of the recent assembly elections. It is time to reaffirm the idea of India that the Congress has stood for and the positive agenda it offers the nation — and to reform our organisational leadership in a manner that will reignite those ideas and inspire the people. One thing is clear – Change is unavoidable if we need to succeed.”
1/2 All of us who believe in @INCIndia are hurting from the results of the recent assembly elections.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 10, 2022
It is time to reaffirm the idea of India that the Congress has stood for and the positive agenda it offers the nation — and (contd)
According to the Economic Times, a G-23 meeting will be held soon, where the strategy of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be questioned, including the fielding of some controversial candidates in Uttar Pradesh, where the Congress had its worst showing ever despite a high-pitch campaign led by her.
Having taken charge of a drowning Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has firmly sunk the party. Congress’ family bastions Amethi and Rae Bareli, where the party had some hope of attracting votes in the name of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, have also completely slipped out of the Gandhi family’s hands under her leadership. The party drew a big fat zero in both Amethi and Rae Bareli in the 2022 UP Assembly elections.
Meanwhile, TNIE also quoted Lok Sabha member Benny Behanan as telling reporters in Kochi that the party leadership should introspect and initiate corrective measures in a time-bound manner.
According to sources, AICC former president Rahul Gandhi, who has been in Wayanad for the last three days, has expressed confidence in winning Goa and Uttarakhand, as well as putting up a strong showing in Uttar Pradesh. His calculations and expectations, however, fell flat.
The grand old party, which had been a dominant force in Indian politics for decades, continued its free fall, losing Punjab to the AAP and finishing with only two seats out of 403 in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh. The party also suffered a crushing defeat in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.
