After the Indian National Congress’ debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party has fallen into disarray.
Last week, Rahul Gandhi stepped down as party president, following which several other party leaders such as Milind Deora and Jyotiraditya Scindia have also resigned from their posts – a trend that shows little sign of abating.
In Karnataka several MLAs have left to join the BJP, which casts a doubt on whether the Congress government in the state will continue.
Bloomberg’s Kaushik Vaidya spoke with political analyst Tehseen Poonawala and Journalist Rasheed Kidwai on Monday, 8 July, to discuss the party’s fate going forward.
‘Rahul Unfairly Blamed For Loss’
Speaking on the party’s lack of direction, Tehseen said that the Congress in dilemma and Rahul Gandhi has been unfairly blamed for the party's two consecutive defeats.
“The same people who were responsible for the 2014 defeat, continue to be responsible for the 2019 defeat.”Tehseen Poonawala
According to Poonawala, the captain couldn't perform because he didn't have a team of his choice.
Speaking on the situation in Karnataka, he said that Rahul was resposible for outmanouvering Amit Shah and formed the state government.
He added that this was the time for Rahul to cleanse his party and that he should continue to be the force behind the party so it can rise again.
Poonawala further said the Congress should now focus on the upcoming elections.
‘Cong Losing the Ideological, Technological Battle’
Asked about the Congress’ rebuilding efforts, Rasheed Kidwai said that the party's rise would be extremely difficult, since it is losing the ideological battle against the BJP, Hindutva and majoritarianism.
“The Congress does not have a recipe to counter it. It tried hard to be a kind of ‘b-team’ and tried to peddle ‘soft hindutva’, but it didn’t work.”Rasheed Kidwai
Kidwai also said that the Congress is not psychologically ready to grapple with what's happening on social media as it is not a tech driven party.
In his view the younger generations have bought into the narrative, pushed by the BJP’s proficient social media cell, that the Congress appeases minorities.
"It (Congress) has one recipe; win an election, come back. It has no other plan." he concluded.
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