Congress president Rahul Gandhi has exhibited a strong sense of rectitude in the wake of the Lok Sabha election results, which have jolted the political landscape, in holding on to his decision to resign.
In his generation, the Congress has few leaders who are more capable than Mr Gandhi, more energetic, better imbued with the spirit of the party’s ideology, and possessing a moral sense and an attitude of detachment.
The party would be hard put to find a replacement. But even after quitting the president’s post he can remain an energising force while passing the baton of the executive presidency to someone else.
However, it is quite clear that Mr Gandhi should not remain the de jure leader of his party as he has led it to an emphatic defeat, losing his own seat in UP, a vital state where the going will now become much tougher for the Congress (and other so-called “secular” parties) in the 2022 Assembly elections.
If Mr Gandhi succumbed to the pleadings of prominent party individuals to carry on regardless, it would be a poor advertisement for the Congress, that already suffers from a reputation deficit in the context of accountability. We are at a historic juncture in the nation’s life, and better standards need to be set.
If the Congress vanishes into the blue because it cannot find a plausible leader to replace a dynast, no matter how capable or politically virtuous, it probably deserves to go into oblivion. The truth, however, is that there are capable, non-grasping, individuals with the right political experience and attitude.
They are, however, not to be found in the present Working Committee, which mostly appears to be a bunch of effete, self-serving, powerbrokers, who have slipped down the scale in effectiveness and in being in touch with people. And Mr Gandhi should be lauded for putting it emphatically on record at the CWC meeting on Saturday that no one from the Gandhi family should replace him. That famous last name has anyway become a punching bag, whether the Congress does badly or well in elections.
Since the Congress has done very well in Kerala and Punjab without the crutch of a major ally (as in Tamil Nadu), the next president could be located from these parts. Mr Gandhi’s successor should scatter the present CWC and ensure that half the members of this high-level body are elected. The party’s constitution allows for this.
A Congress spokesman issued an utterly foolish statement on Monday — that no one, including the media, should speculate and spread rumours about what transpired behind closed doors at the CWC meet where Mr Gandhi declared his wish to resign. He seems unaware of the historic moment and unaware that Mr Gandhi is himself the prime mover for change.
