Gonegress!!

The result of the five state elections yesterday threw a rude reality at the Congress party. It further solidified the fact that dynastic overtures have far outlived their longevity in Indian politics. People have systematically started rejecting the notion that a family name, at times borrowed, is good enough to win you elections by doing nothing. It is an insolent shock for the political outfits that made it a family business and have taken the voters for granted far too long. Congress is a prime example of this public onslaught. The grand old party which always took pride on their more than a century old history are reduced to naught in about two years’ time. If the tides continue to flow the way they are at present, it isn’t long before the election commission declares it a regional party. But are the stalwarts in the party listening? I doubt they are.

I always said this and at multiple times – Rahul Gandhi is a disaster. Whatever he has touched has turned into asses in no time. This ‘turning into asses’ effect has now percolated to its allies as well. The destruction started with the Congress party itself. For the first time RG led the election for the party in 2014 and it got reduced to 44. And it is downhill since then. It is also a downhill for anyone who tried to stich an alliance with the Congress party. Except for JD(U) and RJD, with whom Congress allied in Bihar as a non-existent junior partner, pretty much every other allay was destroyed alongside Congress. Barely managing to squeeze themselves in as irrelevant junior partner in a coalition is another low that reflects a lot about the incompetence level of its leadership, starting with Sonia Gandhi and down. Looking at the track record of RG and his party, the outcome of yesterday didn’t at all come as a surprise. For a change I tend to agree with Digvijay Singh. It was expected he said. But what surprises me is the attitude of the Congress party and its leaders who still fancy a nice and cosy world, far from the facts on the ground, in their denial. They were in renunciation mode post 2014 debacle and they still are. They are unwilling to agree that they are thoroughly dumped by the voters. That is perhaps why RG was seen shamelessly smiling at a post result press conference after 2014 results. They didn’t learn post the J&K and Maharashtra elections either. Every time the sycophants built a verbal human firewall around their leadership to shield them from obvious and rightful blame. Even yesterday the mother-son duo was nowhere to be seen. When presidents of each political party in the fray faced the media after the results, Congress preferred to send a certified idiot called Randeep Surjyawalla to speak for the party. In a way it shows – Congress as a party never were humble in their wins nor were graceful in their defeats. No wonder why they have reincarnated themselves to ‘Gonegress’ from Congress.

But before we go to the point if Congress would learn something finally, it is more important to see where this party stands now and how bad the road ahead appears for them. Take example of Tamil  nadu. It happened in 32 years that the voters in TN chose to reinstall the incumbent government one more time. This has never happened before. And, I have a feeling; it never would have happened either. At least the margin of defeat doesn’t show that DMK lost it badly. Generally TN voters chose either from DMK or AIADMK depending who isn’t in power and they generally give the party a landslide victory. But this didn’t happen this time around. Jayalalitha barely cavorted home. And don’t believe that TN voters suddenly made two drastic changes in their voting patterns. The more I dig into the seat share and vote garnered by DMK; it appears more that DMK made a blunder in their strategy. And that blunder is to partner with the Congress party. Out of the 40 seats that Congress fought they only could manage to win just 8. That is a precarious 19% strike rate, far lesser than that of an average regional party. At the other hand, DMK had a fairly good strike rate. The winnability of Congress candidates had gone to such a dismal level in recent times that they simply can’t win an election. And it was proved yet again in TN mandate. Even these 8 seats that Congress managed to win are because of the DMK. Had Congress fought TN on their own I am sure they would have drawn a big zero. On the similar lines – had DMK gone on their own they might have overthrown Jayalalitha from power. For the records, DMK swept the entire Chennai city seats, which in a way suggests that the urban middle class voters were in favour of DMK assuming power. And it has never happened in TN history that a party blanked out in Chennai and yet managed to win the state election with majority. All such first times lead to the calamity called Congress party and it is only DMK that should rue the fact that they took a decision that cost them the state.

Same is the case in Bengal. Though Didi was destined to win, left running third in the race was never thought of. This reflects another thing about Congress. Though they enjoy the benefit of their partners they hardly contribute anything to the alliance. And Left learnt this lesson the bitter way. Piggybacking on left rapport Congress managed to win 41 seats but they never could let left benefit anything from them. All those who voted for Congress are left voters and in absence of an alliance they very well would have gone with the left. This is a very precarious situation for the Congress party. Not only have they lost their relevance in Indian politics but also their vote base has eroded to a large extent. And this didn't happen accidentally. There are ample reasons to it. Far more grievous is the fact that, in a way it shows the lack of confidence among the voters to even think about Congress as an option and alternative. This is the reason why Congress even lost most of their seats in their ultra-strong zones this time. The traditional vote base of Congress, the villages and semi urban areas where the party thrived on the poverty and illiteracy of the voters have started to reject the party wholesome. Not a single seat from the tribal belts is another proof of the same. There are no more scopes for fraudulent ‘Garibi Hatao’ gimmicks to make you win seats, let alone elections. For ages, people whom Congress fooled around, have now started to recognize their true benefits beyond family blackmailing and nonsensical jamboree. That is why they are rejecting anyone who comes across as an incompetent soul with nothing more than a bunch of third rated stunts and a family name to his/her credit.

But, is the Congress party learning from its mistakes? Do people within Congress see themselves beyond a failure called Rahul Gandhi? It appears not. The same cabal of family worshiping continues even after multiple failures. Each of the failure that RG achieved are covered efficiently and no one in the Congress party seems to appreciate truth. Nobody seems interested to call a spade a spade. Those who do, like Hemanta Biswasharma, are thrown out of the Darbar by the useless prince. Only a bunch of ‘Yes Men’ keep on praising the king and it is only right that the king now ended up walking down the streets naked. It is not that Congress lacks genuine leaders. In fact there are plenty of them. But sadly sycophancy is a potent mixture. It blinds even the best to see the writing on the wall. While RG should have been asked to go for his multiple failures, there are clowns like Mr. Chacko who demand a promotion for this incompetent fool. In fact Congress has a strange spectrum of leadership. For every Sachin Pilot they have a moron in P.C. Chacko. For every Milind Deaora they have an Alcoholic Aiyer. The jokers handsomely overpower the sensible lot in the party and elevate another joker to the helm, each time and every time.

This is a sorry state that the party is in. Honestly speaking, I would love to see Congress party as a viable alternative to BJP in national politics but not in the current form. The fake Gandhis must be shown the door for their sheer incompetency. Along with the undeserving family all ‘Yes Men’ Darbaris must also be thrown out. As correctly said by DS – Congress is damaged far beyond the repair level.  Unlike the worthless blabber of the queen, they need much more than just introspection. They need surgery and multiple surgeries at that. If they want to take my advice, they in fact need amputation; starting with a certain Rahul ‘Clueless’ Gandhi. After all, cancers are best cured when thrown out of the system.