While the whole media is currently busy discussing the various “master strokes” by the Gandhi family in the ongoing Punjab circus, we are missing out on discussing their master strokes in other key states such as Kerala and Chhattisgarh. The below news item on September 28^th piqued my interest to think more about why the Congress party is doing so bad in Kerala.  

Think about this. Rahul Gandhi’s congress party is the main opposition party in Kerala. Since 1977, no party came back to power after completing a term. So, history was on Rahul Gandhi’s side. The Congress party won 15 seats out of the 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, so clearly public opinion was also favouring them. Rahul Gandhi himself won from Kerala while losing in his traditional bastion, Amethi. So, that would mean the Congress party will have found additional gravitas. Between 2019 and 2021, COVID has had a devastating impact on Kerala. The famed “Kerala model” turned out to be a bogus model. With so much in favour of the Congress party, you would assume Rahul Gandhi will put in significant efforts to bring back Congress party to power in the 2021 elections.

The end result of the 2021 elections is that the Communist parties ended up winning more seats than their 2016 result! For the first time since 1977, an incumbent alliance came back to power in Kerala. There can be only two reasons for Congress to have lost so badly – the incompetence of Rahul Gandhi and an internal arrangement between the Communists and the Congress (They anyway do an open arrangement in every state in India except Kerala!).

Why would they make an internal arrangement? The Congress is in power in 3 states on its own and is in power through an alliance in Maharashtra (at the time of 2021 elections). It was also believed then (and results proved it) that DMK alliance, of which the Congress is a part of, will come to power in Tamil Nadu. In contrast, Kerala is the only state where the communists are in power. They cannot afford to lose power in the only state where they have a hope – and hence an internal arrangement that Congress will go easy in Kerala. This theory is all a product of my imagination, but I can’t think of any other reason to explain the illogical campaign of Rahul Gandhi where he was criticizing BJP more than the Communists! Or you should take a glance at Shashi Tharoor’s timeline – no quirky one liners on Communists; no strong graphics against the Communists; no outrage against the Communists. Everything is always directed towards the BJP only. Why else would Congress focus on BJP in a state where BJP is still a non-player electorally?

And now we have to discuss the incompetence of Rahul Gandhi in keeping his party flock together in the state that he is an MP from! V.M. Sudheeran is a former KPCC President and is one of the tallest leaders of the party, not just in Kerala, but even at the national level. In addition to a lot of exoduses of the Congress cadre to the Communists, key leaders are also now quitting the party. Doesn’t it boggle your mind how Rahul Gandhi can be so incapable of managing affairs the state that he is an MP from?  

Speaking of Rahul Gandhi, did you know that the current crisis in their Chhattisgarh unit is also because of his staggering incompetence? He’s apparently promised the current health minister, T.S. Singh Deo that he will be made the Chief Minister in 2021. The current Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel refuses to quit now. And is the nature of the Congress party, they have leaked some information suggesting that Priyanka Gandhi wants Bhupesh Baghel to continue, and Rahul Gandhi wants T.S.Singh Deo to take over. This same brother-sister conflict is baffling their Punjab unit currently – it’s really a wonder how they still manage to pull out a “master stroke” headline from the media!

Amidst this, we have Kanhaiya Kumar joining Congress and saying Congress need to be revived. Revived how? By bowing to the diktats of the Gandhi family? By continuing to prostrate before the Gandhi family irrespective of poor results across the country?

Have you ever heard of any political party in the entire world which has an “Interim President” for 2 years and counting? Have you heard or any political party in the entire world where mom, son and daughter enjoy all power and no responsibility? How can Congress party be revived with such incompetent and lackluster leadership? Even their die-hard supporters in the English media are distressed with how the siblings are handling matters – how can the Gandhi siblings not see this?

Image source: Hindustan Times