Congress: Is it young vs old guard or seniors getting even?

New Delhi: The war within the Congress is out in the open, but it’s not clear who’s fighting whom at the moment. While on the face of it, it is a battle between the young and the old guard, it could well be one where the seniors are out to settle scores with each other, and the younger lot being used as pawns in the game. A few days ago, when senior leader Janardan Dwivedi called for a “retirement age” for Congress leaders from holding active party positions, it was construed by some in the party as a ‘direct attack’ on the high command. From Rahul loyalist Madhusudan Mistry to party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi, several Congress leaders went public with the party’s disapproval of the comment. But what no one expected that 14 secretaries of the party would come together as a group and write a letter to senior leader Dwivedi, recommending he “consciously refrain from going to the public with any negative comment about the party”. Considering Dwivedi is one of the senior most leaders, this was seen as a “response” by the “coterie” of the high command, through relatively new people inducted as secretaries. [caption id=“attachment_1695877” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. PTI[/caption] Another senior leader, Digvijaya Singh, didn’t bother mincing words when he told a newspaper that Rahul’s silence on key issues had caused the party to lose “war of perception” in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. Yet, he was spared. One reason for that could be Singh proximity to the Gandhi scion unlike Dwivedi, who is seen as close only to Congress president, making it easier to attack him. Digvijaya Singh took to Twitter to air his views: “Thank God younger generation of Congress is now demanding generational change which I have been suggesting since Burari AICC in 2009 December”. But this new group of leaders have chosen to ignore Singh’s remarks, instead targeting Dwivedi who had simply asked for a discussion on the “age issue.” But that is just the tip of the iceberg. A section of the top brass is of the view that these leaders who have written the letter are as much to blame as the seniors for the current infighting. “Why did they selectively leak their “move” and then their “letter” to the media. Isn’t that going public with their views?” questions a senior leader on the condition of anonymity. “All Dwivediji said is that the youth (Rahul) should be more pro-active. That is no reason for them to humiliate a senior leader like this,” he confessed. Even though the senior leadership has admitted that they were a part of decision making as well, its time for honest introspection. By choosing to push for the new generation, a section feels that this is the only way to weed out the “coterie” that has long held power without responsibility in the party. This group extends to the Rahul Gandhi camp as well, and many feel the letter written by the group could not have been done without their blessings. But most of seniors still remain mum, towing the party line. “These things shouldn’t happen. If anyone wants to air their views, it should be done at a party forum,” says senior leader Ambika Soni, who is considered very close to Sonia Gandhi. Most office-bearers who signed the letter are the ones who made it through the ranks from frontal organisations like the Indian Youth Congress and NSUI. It’s interesting that the members of the so called Rahul brigade who became ministers during UPA regime had no role to play in this, and neither were they asked to. The likes of Jitendra Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Jitin Prasada, Deepinder Hooda, RPN Singh and Milind Deora were conspicuous by their absence. “They (who signed the letter) are people who don’t have any electoral experience and they will simply replace old sycophants with new faces,” says a youth leader on condition of anonymity. “If Digvijayaji said we lost the perception war. then we need to find a solution to it, rather than push it under the carpet to earn brownie points at the behest of others,” he added. The internal strife seems to have finally shaken Rahul out of his slumber as he lashed out at the Modi Government during his trip to Amethi on Thursday. But such half-hearted measures are not going to help the party’s cause. Rather than focusing their energies on making Janardan Dwivedi the “fall guy”, Congressmen need to hold up the mirror in front of their confused leadership.