Rahul Gandhi was very combative, took on the opposition head on and tried his best to boost the sagging morale of his party leaders and workers across India during his 45-minute long speech at the AICC meet in New Delhi on Friday. Without naming Narendra Modi or BJP or the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he attacked their style of functioning and policies.
He listed out the achievements of the Congress government and even called the opposition good marketers. Like his father, late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, the son also took on power brokers in the party. He cautioned them that the party must open its doors to the real workers and new thoughts.
The AAP effect was quite visible in his speech. He spoke about how people from all walks of life are helping him in preparing the party manifesto. He also expressed his strongest reservation over media and courts doing the job of Parliament and state assemblies. He even ridiculed the AAP saying that some people make laws in the streets. Analysts say it is his best speech ever.
Congress needs Gandhis more than Gandhis need Congress
Dynastic politics has been the hallmark of the Congress after Independence. Party workers have always expected the family to lead them.
But, has he succeeded in conveying his message to the nation and party? Even though, what he said was quiet powerful and appealing, the reality speaks of a different situation.
Even after Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi made it clear that the party will not project him as the PM nominee, the party leaders did not drop the demand. Every Congress leader, who spoke demanded that Rahul Gandhi should lead the party as its PM candidate.
Dynastic politics has been the hallmark of the Congress after Independence. There is nothing new in party workers and leaders expecting the family to lead them. It has always been Congress 'culture'.
The whole special session of the party was centred around the Gandhi family. Congress leaders and workers words and actions proved that they don't see a future beyond or without the family.
It is a fact that the Gandhi family has been holding the Congress together. As veteran editor Kumar Ketkar says "the Congress needs the Gandhis more than the Gandhis need the Congress for their survival".
After the Congress split in Bangalore in 1969, the Gandhi family is running the party like a private property. Till her assassination in 1984, Indira Gandhi used to control every aspect of the party. After that her son Rajiv Gandhi also did the same till his assassination in 1991.
The party was run by a non-Gandhi between 1991-98. PV Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri managed to hold the party together. When the party started falling apart, the workers and leaders pleaded and forced a 'reluctant' Sonia Gandhi to save it by taking charge. The party returned to the family again in 1998 and Sonia Gandhi has been running it with an iron grip over it.
The post-British history of sub-continent proves that all countries in south Asia are obsessed with one or the other powerful family. In Pakistan, it is Bhuttos, In Sri Lanka it is Bandaranaike family, In Bangladesh, it is Mujibur Rahman family and so on.
In India, which has always remained a functioning democracy unlike most others, the grip of Gandhis over the party is quiet strong. Their hold is unquestionable. Even though many Congress workers and leaders grumble that there is no internal democracy because of the family control, they also admit that the party can't and won't survive without the Gandhis.
Most of them have seen what happened during Rao and Kesri's tenure and nobody wants to go back to those turbulent days. Many in Congress happily accept the 'dictatorship' of the family over complete anarchy and chaos, a non-Gandhi family member may bring.
Because of these reasons, nobody spoke about the need for a non-Gandhi family member coming to the forefront. As a veteran leader of the party says 'it is unthinkable and impractical'.
He says, "all of us know that the Congress won't survive without the Gandhis. Demanding that they should make way for others is just like destroying our own house with our own hands. Do we have a future without the Congress? No. How can any sane person in the party demand that Gandhis should not be there?"
These words echo the sentiments of most Congress workers and leaders across the country. The party has a new commander-in-chief in Rahul Gandhi. He will be leading the party in the Lok Sabha elections. If he wins or at least manages to apply break to the march of Modi and the AAP, he will emerge stronger. Even if he fails this time, as the party leaders say he will still be there waiting for the next chance.
'No Gandhi, No Congress'. Party accepts dynastic rule for its own very survival. Even if he tries, Rahul Gandhi can't change it. It s in the party DNA and one can't change the DNA.
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