An end to ‘dynasty’ politics, 10 Janpath in Doldrums?

  11-Jul-2019 12:55:58

Rahul Gandhi Congress
Rahul Gandhi has been adamant about his decision of resigning as the Congress Party President, ever since the General election results were announced, despite the rejection of his resignation by CWC. His party faced a massive defeat and the party won only 52 seats in the elections of May’19.
He formally resigned on 4th July’19. In a four-page open letter, Gandhi said that he owed the country and his party debt of tremendous gratitude and love. Rahul Gandhi has eloquently stated his commitment to the party’s ideology and his determination to carry on the struggle against the political principles of the BJP.
He has urged the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to entrust a group of people with the task of finding a new party Chief as it would not be appropriate for him to nominate someone. If no member of the Nehru-Gandhi family gets the position, it would be the third time, after PV Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri, that someone from outside the family will lead the Congress. According to the procedure, the CWC will nominate an “interim president” and the president would be elected through nationwide voting.
Ever since it became clear that Rahul was adamant about stepping down as the Congress chief, several names have done rounds.
Veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, a powerful Dalit face, is being seen as a strong possibility to take over as the party chief. Sushil Kumar Shinde, former Union home minister is also one of the top contenders to become the party Chief. He is a respected Dalit face in the party. He was Congress’ nominee for Vice President in 2002. He has also served as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh after vacating the Maharashtra chief minister’s position in favour of Vilasrao Deshmukh (second term).
Sachin Pilot, who was credited for rebuilding the party’s Rajasthan unit after their losses in 2013 Assembly election and 2014 Lok Sabha elections , is being considered as a strong contender. Along with him, Jyotiraditya Scindia is also an anticipatory name from the young generation.
Shashi Tharoor, former Minister of State for External Affairs and Human Resource Development is a popular pick as a candidate. He also has a grip on the party’s Kerala unit. Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 19 out of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala this time. However, critics point out that Tharoor may not be able to rally the party’s senior leadership.
After Rahul’s resignation, twitter was flooded with tweets. Some find it positive whereas others see this as detrimental for the party. For instance, the timing of the Karnataka crisis could not have been worse. It comes after the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections of May’19 and at a time when the party is grappling with a leadership vacuum at its topmost level
On one hand, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has asked the CWC to look for Rahul Gandhi’s replacement in a “charismatic Gen Next leader, who can enthuse the people with his pan-India appeal and grassroots presence". On the other hand, BJP feels that the Modi storm has uprooted Rahul Gandhi. Shiv Sena spokesman and MP Sanjay Raut said that Congress has now become Gandhi family-free.
By: Simran Gogia