The yatras of the Congress are on and the party is battle ready to take on its opponents in the election-bound states. But the pr-oblem of political management stares the grand old party in the face. In the last 10 months, desertions, intrigues and cons-piracies have become commonplace. The lack of initiative being shown has caused serious discomfiture within the organisation.
The latest incident is that of the former West Bengal Congress chief and sitting Congress MLA from West Bengal, Manas Bhunia. Mr Bhunia has deserted the party and joined the Trinamul Congress. The entire government in Arunachal Pradesh has shifted loyalties to NEDA. The refrain is the same that the central leadership is not listening to them. This was also said by late Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Kaliko Pul. Himanta Biswa Sarma, now with the BJP, said that the Congress vice-president was busy playing with his dog when they were discussing their problems.
Insiders feel that issues are not being handled well and are being allowed to foment. For instance, they say that the person, who was in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh when the crisis of December 2015 happened, was promoted and made the chief minister. The current in-charge, in spite of all the trouble in the Northeast, is sitting strong. This gives the impression that the party is not serious about politically resolving issues till the time those don’t blow up in its face. Not only does it encourage blackmailing, but also weakens leadership.
Gurudas Kamat, who hails from Mumbai and who is the general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan and Gujarat, had resigned from the party. Sources say that there were differences between him and the general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra. However, after the intervention of the Congress president, he was persuaded to come back. But, Mr Kamat maintained that he does not speak to Maharashtra in-charge Mohan Prakash.
Political management is the backbone of any political party. While Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari feels that the situation is not bad, yet he says that “anybody leaving the party is a loss; pretending otherwise would be taking an ostrich-like attitude”. However, the Congress will have to work overtime to ensure the situation does not deteriorate further.
