India First | Congress is desperate to lead anti-BJP alliance but lacks alternative vision

It was amusing to see the Congress making a cocky assertion that it would lead an anti-BJP coalition in 2024 and form the next Government by defeating the present coalition led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While parties opposed to the BJP and facing extinction are trying to figure out how to draw the boundary of the contest in 2024, the Congress has already jumped the gun. While doing so the Congress has already set the agenda for its Plenary in Raipur. Most likely the meeting would come out with an announcement of weaving a coalition around Rahul Gandhi so that none is kept in doubt. This may help Rahul to launch his public outreach programme. The content of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s election rally in Nagaland on 22 February may perk-up Rahul Gandhi and others who want to live in illusion that the formidable Modi can be defeated in 2024, but it would not inspire confidence of either the likely coalition partners or the people from whom the Congress seeks votes. It is very difficult for Rahul Gandhi to transform himself from the stubborn and arrogant descendant of the Gandhi family into an amenable, affable, mixing and democratic leader. As it happens normally, such leaders imagine that they are born to rule and people should genuflect before them. If one has to go by experience, one cannot forget how Rahul Gandhi dealt with strong Congress leaders. How they have left the party one after the other. One cannot forget the way he treated Himanta Biswa Sharma and other senior leaders. He was feeding biscuits to his dog rather than listening to the issues they had come to raise and later he offered the biscuits from the same plate to those who had come to meet him. Senior leaders of other parties who have demonstrated their political strength and mass support would not find it easy to deal with Rahul Gandhi. This means sharing the dais with others as equals and later taking care of their temperament. Every individual is different and demands separate treatment. This demands that the leader should listen, a quality that is completely absent in the Gandhi scion. He would do well to learn from Narendra Modi the art of listening. Anyone who has met the Prime Minister either today or when he was trying to understand the politics of Lutyens’ Delhi would testify that his patience to listen to what people say has endeared him to even his adversaries. This means that he is able to understand what those who have come to meet him want. How much to promise, when to remain silent without hurting and how to say “No” without being arrogant do not come easily. The Congress could look for a potential ally in Nitish Kumar, Tejashwi Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee, K Chandrashekhar Rao, Sharad Pawar and Arvind Kejriwal. All these leaders have an elephantine ego. While they would like to join hands to oust the BJP, they would not trust a leader they would not be able to talk to as equals. And some of these leaders do not share the Congress’s pathological hatred for the BJP. The biggest question facing the entire anti-BJP Opposition today is how to find an issue that would reverberate with people. What Kharge said at Nagaland meeting about freedom struggle etc are clichés and the people of modern India want to know the alternative vision about the country. To them, Modi represents the vision for a new and strong India. They have been voting for Modi overwhelmingly and there is no reason that they should change their loyalty. How would the Congress change its image of being corrupt and dynastic? Or do these parties feel that these issues do not matter in current India and success would come by aggregating the support base of these parties. The Opposition may try to create an impression of being haunted by Central prosecuting agencies but they would not be able to account for the illegal transactions being uncovered by the Enforcement Directorate and other agencies. Most likely the anti-BJP, anti-Modi alliance would look like a gang of the corrupt, desperate to protect themselves from the results of their misdeeds of the past. They know that the government agencies would follow them one after the other unless the Modi regime is thrown out of power. Despite moral degradation and corruption getting legitimacy, Indian society is still governed by Dharma. People want their leaders to be above board. And this is the Achilles’ Heel for the Opposition. People have very strongly started debating about issues that are good for the nation. What should be the agenda? How to maintain diversity and unity? How to know which leader is good or bad? Who has a better vision for the country? All these issues force people to come out of their narrow affiliations and think as a citizen. And when the love of country and how to make it strong is concerned, Modi scores far ahead of others. The writer is the convener of the media relations department of the BJP and represents the party as a spokesperson on TV debates. He has authored the book ‘Narendra Modi: The Game Changer’. The views expressed are personal. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .