India has changed but the Congress party hasn’t

In any functioning democracy what is needed other than a government is a credible and strong Opposition. The Opposition is the checks and balances on those in power and its questions and objections serve to remind the electorate of the ‘other’ perspective. Because in politics, as in life, there is always more than one way of looking at things. While it is the job of the government to make policies and implement them, a good Opposition is needed to point out the flaws and seek a debate on issues.

In India, since 2014, a strong government has played its role. The Opposition, meanwhile, has not only failed to rise to the challenge, it now seems they are incapable of even playing that role. The main focus of course is on the Grand Old Party of India, the Congress Party, which for decades ran the country and laid the foundation of many institutions, besides upholding a social ideal which was a mix of a welfare state, secularism, and tolerance.

2014 has been the most significant year in India’s recent history. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power winning 282 of 543 seats in India’s lower House of Parliament while the Congress got a mere 44 seats. In 2019, the BJP came back with a roaring majority winning 303 seats in the lower House of Parliament. The man credited with the BJP’s victory in both terms has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi who remains a hugely popular figure in the country. Which also leads us to the next logical question: where is the leadership in the Opposition?

For a long time now, many have hoped Rahul Gandhi will one day shake off his reluctant leader image and finally be able to grab the nation’s attention. His Bharat Jodo Yatra ( a march across the length of the country) which is currently on is his latest endeavor and the party to unite the nation. But then as the joke goes, maybe he needs to focus on fixing his party first. A series of high-level defections with most of them joining the BJP has dented his image even further. It’s almost as if nothing is working for the man who most Congress loyalists see as the natural heir to the party legacy. The problem is two-fold: one, the party is in shambles, and two, there is no leader. Rahul has been given enough time and tests, and one failure after the other has proved his lack of credentials and charisma to lead the party or the country. It is time the Congress party, which is almost a dead, comatose institution today, woke out of its deep slumber and saw the changing face of India around.

- The writer is a senior journalist based in Delhi