Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to invite the single largest party to take a first shot at power literally means the BJP gets a green signal to horse-trade and manufacture a majority in a time-frame of 15 days.
While political circles are abuzz on how politically correct or incorrect the governor has been, the Karnataka narrative has thrown open the floodgates to endless debates. And as parties continue to spar over free and fair democratic processes in government formation, an equally significant issue of Congress leadership plays out in the distant background, quite blurred by the din of government formation. Has Rahul Gandhi now lost relevance as chief of a united opposition?
Consider this: Congress has been decimated on a turf which it had always considered its home ground. The end result has forced the grand-old party to make a pre-emptive strike against the BJP and in a face-saving move extend unconditional support to the JDS, a party which it had just crossed swords with in a high-pitched campaign. For all the humiliation, Congress chose to concede to JDS, a third-finisher in the state in a desperate bid to grab power.
That the Congress was beaten in its own stronghold, exposes the chinks in its leadership. It was Karnataka where Rahul had nurtured hopes of a turnaround, and conceding such a defeat has blanked off the faint vision he had of taking on the mantle of prime ministership, post 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The Karnataka verdict has crushed it all in a most-telling blow. And with this any hopes of Rahul emerging as a magnet, uniting the Congress, too have been blown away. The Congress president now has the ignominy of losing six elections in a span of six months. And while the Congress-mukht India chants grow louder, the grand old party is barely left with three states “ Puducherry, Punjab and Mizoram.
If Congress has virtually plummeted to levels of no return for now, the responsibility should primarily lie on its president. No amount of consolation and chest-thumping on rise in vote-share will help. Flipping through the pages of history and recounting Congress’ neck-and-neck contests in States is not going to change narratives either. At the end of the day, winners take it all. Rahul, for all his talk of re-strategising and changes, has been swept away by the Modi-Shah wave.
There are lessons which the Congress will have to learn, albeit belatedly. The party failed to understand basic strategies, just as they failed to strategise a pre-poll alliance with JDS. Regional players have made their presence felt time and again and the time is rife for Congress to respond and respect them.
