Congress is the oldest political party in India and has had a stronghold over Indian politics since independence. However, after “ruling” over the world’s largest democracy for about 60 years, Congress seems to be losing its vote bank along with its stand in the Indian politics.
After Rahul Gandhi came into the picture during the Manmohan Singh led UPA-II government, people were hoping that Congress would launch him as the young face of Congress. Congress did the same but he lacked leadership abilities and his political discourse wasn’t good enough to charm the Indian population. His aloofness from the ground-level problems of rural India further added to his downfall.
After the miserable defeat of Congress in 2019 general elections, he stepped down from the post of the National President of Congress. Rather than offering the vacant post to young and eligible leaders, Sonia Gandhi took over and now Priyanka Vadra Gandhi is trying to become the face of Congress.
The dynastic politics and the Gandhian monopoly in Congress have restricted the growth of young leaders in Congress who may keep Congress’ ship sailing.
Who Are These Leaders And How Can They Help Congress?
The young leaders of Congress who have retained a standing in the Indian politics include Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot.
Jyotiraditya Scindia is a young leader who has a huge following in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He is a descendant of the royal family of Gwalior. His royal background has bestowed him with generations of political knowledge making him the leader of the masses. He has a close and personal connection with people of Madhya Pradesh and is well aware of the grass-root level problems. His effective campaign can be credited for Congress winning the MP State Assembly elections.
Sachin Pilot is the son of a prominent Gurjar leader and former cabinet minister. He has a strong political presence amongst the Rajasthani folks and since he has worked closely with the common-folk, he owns the hearts of the rural population. He was instrumental for Congress in their triumph in the Rajasthan State Assembly elections.
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Unlike Rahul Gandhi who stays abroad for the best part of the year and is nowhere to be seen after he stepped down from the post of Congress President, these two leaders have continued their efforts towards increasing the presence of Congress in the respective states and their efforts have also shown positive results. Both of them are intelligent and communication skills are good enough to help them understand the hardships of rich and poor and old and young alike.
However, despite their charismatic personality, Congress failed to give them credit for their work and as the Print stated, the only way they can survive politically is by leaving the Grand old party.
What Will Loosing Scindia And Pilot Mean For Congress
Over the years, Scindia and Pilot have shown their displeasure regarding the affairs of Congress. Recently, Scindia called out MP CM Kamal Nath for not fulfilling the manifesto promises but rather than taking a fellow politician’s concern seriously and working on it, Kamal Nath dared Scindia to launch a protest.
Sachin Pilot also did not hold back his harsh comments on the death of several children in Kota, Rajasthan and Ashok Gehlot, CM of Rajasthan was unhappy.
Milind Deora is a popular Congress leader in Maharastra and a supporter of Scindia and Pilot. The other day, his tweet praising Aam Admi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal went viral and in response to the same, Delhi Congress Leader, Ajay Makan, asked him to leave Congress.
This attitude of Congress can lead to the exit of some prominent and key Congress leaders like Scindia and Pilot. The ministerial ambitions of both the young leaders are not hidden and if they are not fulfilled and the attitude of senior Congress leaders doesn’t change, they will give up on the party to rescue their political career.
Leaving Congress will help the young men and keeping in mind their public image, any party would love to have them. On the flip side, Congress will be left with only regrets as the exit of firebrand leaders like them would mean loss of a good share of vote bank and this, in no case, would help Congress come out of its miserable political state.
It’s high time that Congress puts the obsession for Rahul-Sonia-Priyanka on the back burner and start recognizing eligible leaders before it is too late.
Image Source: Google Images
Sources: Live Mint, News 18, The Print
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