It is normal politics for an opposition party to take advantage of the failings of the ruling government, but Congress, which is the main opposition party, has failed to catch the point. The BJP government has to be held to account for its poor management of the pandemic situation and tackle farmers’ issue. But the Congress could not make use of it or any other failure of the government in the recent assembly elections. Congress brand value and thus credibility, is at an all-time low. And its State election strategies are proof. The Congress has been weakened by its inability to counter the BJP on the level of ideas and an agenda in politics and governance. But there is the need to understand why the Congress party failed and to draw the right lessons. Even two years after Rahul Gandhi quit as its president, the party has not been able to elect a president. But Rahul Gandhi, who has no official party position, still takes major decisions. And he is busy in criticising and condemning the PM and the BJP. In India, people vote to throw someone out of power. When they are angry, they don’t really see who they are voting for. So, any non-BJP force may get lucky. Congress was known as a pragmatic party which was always in tune with the national sentiments. Now the party seems to have lost its ability to feel the popular pulse. The Congress party needs to reinvent itself to survive.
