Same old Congress story

The Congress has stuck to the tried-and-tested path by fielding UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party president Rahul Gandhi from their pocket boroughs — Rae Bareli and Amethi, respectively. For the record, these were the only two seats the Grand Old Party had won in the 2014 parliamentary elections from the key state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends the most number of MPs (80) to the Lok Sabha.

Over the past three decades, the Congress has been reduced to an also-ran in UP, having remained out of power since 1989. A major reason for the party’s consistently poor show has been the abject failure to look beyond the Gandhi family and nurture leaders from the grassroots. Efforts to strengthen the state cadre have left much to be desired. The party no longer has stalwarts of the stature of Chaudhary Charan Singh, whose legacy continues to hold sway over the masses. Charan Singh had quit the party in 1967 and gone on to become the first non-Congress CM of the state. His successor ND Tiwari and CB Gupta, both three-time Chief Ministers, were merely holding the fort for the high command, without nurturing the organisation or pursuing politics of empowerment.

The gathbandhan between the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party forced the Congress to pitchfork Priyanka Gandhi Vadra into the political arena in a bid to lift the morale of party workers. Whether she will contest or not — and if yes, from where — is open to relentless speculation. The party has announced nine other names in its first UP list, including former Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Jitin Prasada and RPN Singh, conveying its intention of going solo if its prospective allies continue to sideline it. Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati have been reluctant to cede ground to the Congress beyond Rae Bareli and Amethi. However, despite all the posturing, Rahul and Co are clutching at straws in the face of formidable odds, even as the SP-BSP duo has managed to get Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal on board. In the absence of strong state-level leaders, the chances of a Congress turnaround in UP appear remote.