The age-old nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty’ often comes to my mind whenever I think of the fate and downfall of the grand-old Congress party of yesteryears. The concluding line of the verse ‘All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men could not put Humpty together again” aptly depicts the present pathetic state of the party in the country and Goa. Two major setbacks for the party in Goa viz the failure to form the government despite having a majority in the 2017 Assembly elections, and the exodus of 10 of its MLAs to the BJP, have dealt a lethal blow and a virtual knockout punch to the party from the political arena. The party has failed miserably as the main opposition party in Goa. The decimated party is now undertaking the Herculean task of returning to power by taking on the might of the ruling BJP party, by way of sops and promises, which pale into insignificance when compared to those offered by rival opposition parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC). On its own, the party can hardly expect to pose any challenge to the BJP, except aligning with like-minded parties. And given the number of political parties in the fray, only some drastic changes and well-thought-out strategies can save the party from extinction, even at this late stage. Can Congress meet the challenge?
