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| Congress in complete disarray | | Day-dreaming | | Rustam
Jammu, Aug 4: The so-called grand old party of India, Indian National Congress, is in complete disarray. The kind of politics it played over the period has reduced it to the status of a small regional party - party not even being recognized as a political outfit that deserves the office of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha. It required 55 seats in the Lok Sabha to obtain the office of Leader of Opposition, but it could win only 44.
The massive defeat the Congress suffered has demoralized bulk of its leaders, cadres and supporters. Not just this, the party has been witnessing revolt after revolt in its state units. In Maharashtra, a senior Congress leader and a heavy weight Narayan Rane resigned from the Ministry saying he was not prepared to work with Chief Minister Prithavi Raj Chavan. The Congress would lost the election in case if Chavan is not removed from the office of Chief Minister, he said. In Punjab, a senior Congress leader has not only revolted against his own party bigwigs in the state, but has also asked AICC president Sonia Gandhi and AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi to go on two years leave. In Haryana, Congress MP Choudhary Birender Singh and many other senior party leaders, including former Union Minister Shailja Kumari, have openly revolted against Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and declared that they are not prepared to work with him. The Congress would be destroyed if Hooda is not removed from office, he said. In Assam, Education and Health Minister and senior Congress leader and a number of party MLAs have revolted against Chief Minister Tarun Gagoi and declared that they would play the role of opposition in the Assembly. They want Gagoi to go. There are many other states where the infighting in the Congress is its peak.
In J&K, the situation is no different. The party is divided into two groups, one each led by the JKPCC chief Saif-ud-Din Soz and former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Of course, they on occasions share the dais to create an impression that they are working together to strengthen the party, but their supporters in the meetings create scenes and try to promote the interests of their own respective leaders in a brazen manner. In Ladakh, many staunch supporters have deserted the party, as they didn't like the style of functioning of Rigzin Jora, a Minister in the Omar Abdullah Government. In Kashmir, the party is divided into three groups, one supporting Azad, another Soz and Taj Mohi-ud-Din, a Minister in the coalition Government, is playing his own games. He used to be very close to NC leader and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. In Jammu, the Ministers and party functionaries are also a divided lot. Bulk of the party functionaries and a couple of Ministers are with Soz and the rest with Azad and they are working at cross-purposes.
Indeed, the party is in a bad shape in every respect and if some rumours are any indication, then it could be said that a couple of Congress Ministers and a few sitting MLAs may resign from the party and join the BJP. Former MP and Minister in the Mufti Government Lal Singh, along with his supporters, has already resigned and his joining the BJP is only a matter of a few days. It could happen any time. Some of the sitting MLAs and Ministers have come to believe that their winning chances would be bleak in case they seek re-election on Congress tickets. The parry leadership is aware of this emerging trend and has thought of repeating all the sitting MLAs hoping this approach might check this trend. What has demoralized the Congress workers all the more is the reported decision of Soz and Azad not to contest the upcoming Assembly election. It is obvious that they are not sure of their victory. Still, however, Azad and Soz say day in and day out that the Congress would emerge as the largest party in the Assembly in the coming Assembly elections. It's just day-dreaming and an exercise in self-deception.
A number of factors have been working against the Congress in J&K. One is its association with the pro-autonomy and patently anti-Jammu and communal NC. The other is the polarization in the state on religious and ethnic lines - polarization caused by the State Government's militant-friendly approach. The third is that an impression has gained ground in Jammu and Ladakh that the Congress is more a party of Kashmir than of the state as a whole and this impression gained more ground after the Congress MP from Kashmir denounced the Union Government to sanction one Indian Institute of Technology in Jammu. The fourth factor is what the State Government did during the past four days to scuttle the Kousarnag yatra via Kulgam district. Discriminatory policies being pursue by the State Government against Jammu and Ladakh is yet another factor that is working against the Congress in J&K. Besides, the Congress continues to advocate the same ideology that resulted in its ignominious defeat in the Lok Sabha election. All in all, it can be said that the Congress leadership has to work very hard to win back the trust of the alienated people of Jammu and Ladakh. But it appears to be a very difficult task. |
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