Although it has been consistently losing elections over the past three years, the Congress has not been able to come up with the magic formula that can help revive its fortunes. Left floundering for answers after a string of poll reverses, Congress insiders bemoan that when feedback is sought on the way forward, party leaders can never go beyond two proposals: booth management and declaration of candidates a year before the elections. The mantra that is repeated each time is “one booth, 10 youth”. In other words, the party should organise itself at the grassroots by enrolling 10 members at every booth.
When these suggestions were repeated at the party’s internal meetings, an exasperated leader is learnt to have remarked: “We don’t have 10 voters… where are we going to get 10 members? And even the 10 voters don’t want people to know they voted for us.”
Congress leaders maintained that besides these proposals no third suggestion has been placed on the table for the past several years now. Little wonder then that despondent Congress members are running around like headless chicken and, as one leader said, the party anthem these days is the well-known song, “Seene mein jalan, aankhon mein toofan sa kyon hai, Is sheher mein har shakhs pareshan sa kyon hai.”
The official banquet hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee in honour of his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan had its share of both tense and embarrassing moments. As the meal was proceeding smoothly, it was noticed that the Turkish President’s security personnel suddenly looked agitated and were seen conferring urgently with each other and Mr Erdogan. After conversing for a few moments, they (including Mr Erdogan) suddenly went out of the hall. Predictably, there was tension in the Indian camp as it was speculated that Mr Erdogan must have been informed about a serious crisis back home in Turkey; serious enough for the President to leave the banquet midway. This conversation continued, as it was quite some time before Mr Erdogan took his seat at the table again. However, there was considerable relief in the Indian camp when they were told that everything was under control in Turkey and that the visiting President had merely gone to the washroom.
Now that the election of the next President is just round the corner, there is endless speculation in the capital about the names of the possible contenders in the race. The candidates, whose names are doing the rounds, are said to be lobbying furiously for the top post. This is understandable since the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance should be able to muster the required number of votes to get its candidate elected without any major problems. Ironically, similar activity is being witnessed in the Opposition camp. Even though they realise that the Opposition parties do not have the numbers to get them elected, it has not stopped the hopeful contenders from lobbying for the post. This activity has picked up speed ever since Congress president Sonia Gandhi initiated discussions with other Opposition leaders to forge a consensus on fielding a common presidential candidate. While the names of Janata Dal(U) leader Sharad Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda have been mentioned in conversations, Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member H. Hanumanthappa has now thrown his hat in the ring. Even though the discussions in the Opposition camp are still to fructify, Mr Hanumanthappa has circulated letters and pamphlets to justify his claim to this post. As he belongs to the scheduled caste, the Congress leader maintains that the election of a dalit Rashtrapati would be a befitting tribute to the memory to Babasaheb Ambedkar. All this for a losing election.
The BJP has made remarkable gains in West Bengal in recent months. Its party cadres in the state have been specially energised by the BJP’s improved voteshare in the recent bypoll in the Kanthi Dakshin assembly constituency and the tumultuous welcome extended to party president Amit Shah during his recent visit to the state. While the BJP is all set to take on popular chief minister Mamata Banerjee, it faces a minor hitch: it does not have a strong and effective leader who can lead this charge.
As in the case of other states, the BJP has no compunction in poaching from other political parties. There is a buzz that several Congress and Trinamul leaders, who are not averse to jumping ship, are in talks with their BJP counterparts.
Special tea parties have been organised over the past few weeks for this purpose. Senior Congress leader Somen Mitra is learnt to have been present at one such tea party hosted by a disgruntled Trinamool leader, who is being investigated in the Sharada chit fund scam. Politics in West Bengal is set to take an interesting turn.
