Cong finally in revamp mode? Rahul may have started with himself

Almost a month after the Lok Sabha election results, in which the Congress party was decimated, it looked as though the party was still in sleep mode .

Over the last two days, however, the Congress top brass has finally emerged from self-imposed exile to take some baby steps towards an eventual revamp.

The first step in the internal overhaul was the dissolution of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee, following the 30 May announcement by Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, Madhusudan Mistry, that he would recommend such a step to the Congress president.

That the party is starting its process of overhaul in UP is just as well – the party suffered a complete rout in India’s largest state, winning only the pocket boroughs of the Gandhi family, Amethi and Rae Bareli and losing all the others.

A report in The _Times of Indi_a said a new committee may not be constituted until July. It added that the committee had been reconstituted just six months prior to the elections. Expectedly, UPCC chief Nirmal Khatri was spared the sack order.

Unlikely as it may appear at this point, the Congress is also undertaking a long-term makeover, according to reports. What’s more, despite the widespread criticism that party vice-president Rahul Gandhi received in the aftermath of the election debacle, it will be his coterie that will lead the revamp.

The Indian Express reports that Rahul’s vision for the party will be taken forward through his core team members – Madhusudan Mistry, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh. Jitin Prasada, Rajeev Satav (one of only two Congress MPs from Maharashtra), Deepender Hooda and RPN Singh, as well as some Youth Congress members.

The focus will remain on some ideas Rahul mooted during the run-up to the polls, including internal elections at various levels, primaries, a new website, greater transparency, etc.

“The sources say Rahul has not directly met senior leaders of the party who lost in the Lok Sabha elections, in an indication that he might be distancing himself from the ‘old guard’ further, even though general secretaries like Mistry have been asked to meet such leaders to discuss the poll results,” the report states.

Television cameras have also captured the Amethi MP in Lok Sabha, arriving early and taking a bench towards the back, but engaging in long discussions with colleagues in Parliament, including NCP MP from Maharashtra Supriya Sule, CPM member from Palakkad MB Rajesh, his party colleague Deepender Hooda and others. Rajesh was quoted in the Mint newspaper as saying they discussed politics, ideologies, the influence of caste and religion on the polity. “It was a friendly academic conversation, nothing official about it,” Rajesh told the newspaper.

The report said, “Gandhi was also spotted many times in the central hall of Parliament during the last four days. According to the same MP, Gandhi, known to be shy and reserved, was ready for a conversation with anybody who approached him. On Tuesday Aam Aadmi Party MP Bhagwant Mann also went to Gandhi inside the Lok Sabha and was seen talking to him.”

It is already being called a perceptible change in attitude for the reclusive Gandhi who has otherwise remained content in his earlier two terms as MP with listening quietly and making the very rare intervenion (three speeches in two terms). At 43 percent, his attendance was unremarkable in his previous term too.

Now, however, there may be more in store apart from turning slightly friendlier and engaging with other MPs.

Reports suggested that the Jharkhand PCC may be the next to go after UP. The JPCC’s performance is almost as bad as the UPCC’s – Congress candidates lost all seats they contested in the state.

There is also talk that thr Maharashtra chief minister could go ahead of Assembly polls. Perhaps that will be a reminder to Team Rahul that strong state leaders have been a huge gapp for the Congress, having chosen to remain a highly centralised party. Among the few state leaders Rahul Gandhi can look at are now Oommen Chandy, Siddaramaiah, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Amarinder Singh. Other regional leaders’ role will be questioned in coming days – Ajit Jogi, Narayan Rane and otghers.

There is no roadmap yet for the organisational revamp. But it’s hardly difficult to see what needs to be done, for the writing is on the wall.