"Congress workers don't have passion like the BJP cadres. And our leaders are cut off from the public. Despite being in power in Uttarakhand, we have been unable to connect with the people. We are busy fighting each other."
This is what Prashant, a delegate at Congress' 'Jan Vedana Sammelan' feels. Prashant is from Dehradun in Uttarakhand, which is gearing up for Assembly elections next month. For a state on the cusp of elections, the dejection among party workers is indicative of the state of the ruling Congress party in the hill state.
Around 5,000 Congress workers gathered in Delhi's Talkatora stadium at the Sammelan, organised to protest Narendra Modi government's decision to implement demonetisation. Despite fiery speeches from Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders, the lack of enthusiasm among party workers was distinctly visible.
No Congress worker agreed to come on camera, but they spoke off the record about their plight.
Subedar Singh from Morena, Madhya Pradesh told The Quint:
The party is not in a good condition. The energy needed among workers to campaign is no longer there. Whatever Rahul Gandhi has said against Modi on demonetisation has not been able to reach the people in the interior districts.
Next month, the crucial Uttar Pradesh elections are also set to be held. A possible alliance between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress is facing obstacles, which has caused confusion among party workers and leaders.
Kunwar Arun, a former MLA from Alipore in UP’s Ambedkarnagar district, said:
The workers on the ground don’t want an alliance. Whatever the party decision will be, we will have to obey it. But it is important to clear the prevailing confusion. The enthusiasm among party workers which was seen during Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Kisan Yatra’ in September has waned since.
A party member and a ticket hopeful from Moradabad said the condition of anonymity, “We (ticket hopefuls) have spent so much money on campaigning. But we don't know whether we will get the seat after an alliance is finalised.”
Shankar Shekaran, a worker from Chennai, said,
Congress is a national party. The issue of people’s welfare is not on Congress’ agenda in Tamil Nadu, while regional parties in the state like AIADMK and DMK please popular sentiment.
Cadres from Himachal Pradesh had similar complaints. “Ensuring that your issues reach the party high command is impossible. We have come to the Sammelan but we know that we would be unable to talk to any major leader,” one of them said.
So does this mean that the country's primary opposition party wants to start its campaign against demonetisation with an army of dejected party workers? Leaders and the party rank and file see a ray of hope in Rahul Gandhi and wish that he takes over leadership of the Congress soon.
Nirmal Das, from Barmer district in Rajasthan, expressed this sentiment. “Rahul Gandhi should be immediately made the national party president,” he said. “Ordinary Congressmen are waiting for him to take over as under his leadership, our fight will get the boost it needs.”
Ludhiana native, Rajan Sharma stated that Congress workers and people across India want to see Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Minister in 2019. “We will work hard for this to come true.”
Rahul's elevation to the Congress top job is almost certain. Recently, the aggressive manner in which he has spoken out against the NDA government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a break from his earlier image of a politician lacking spunk. Workers see Rahul’s new avatar as a symbol of hope. But they are unsure of how to instil this hope and energy among the ordinary citizens.
It is clear that the country's oldest party needs to launch urgent repairs to keep itself relevant in the national political landscape.
(The story first appeared on Quint Hindi and has been translated by Maanvi)
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