Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Deja' Vu (aka the Congress Drama!)

The soft mutiny by Sachin Pilot has taken national media's attention away from China. For now. China will be back soon, and so will the long due conflict with them. But currently the spicy family drama of Congress is unfolding in full public view. The narrative in media and even among some of the BJP supporters is, how Congress is again sticking to Gandhi's and ready to let go of their young talent. On how smug the Gandhis are that even in this day and age, a person like Sachin Pilot who is an MLA and deputy Chief Minister biggest state (in terms of area) of country cannot get their appointment. How Sachin Pilot single-handedly revived Congress in RJ and wrested power from BJP in last assembly elections. And for some reason how Amit Shah and Modi is killing democracy because they are allowing Congress to implode internally! Ok. I am not going to answer the last question. I cannot stoop that low. That's Ramchandra Guha territory.

Congress is not a political party. It was a family business since independence and for last two decade it has become a mafia business. Congressi's have always stuck with Gandhis. Always! Except for communists and Jan Sangh / BJP, pretty much all parties are splinters of Congress. And these off shoots splintered because they challenged Gandhi's. In short, this drama of today is not new. Second, Congress hasn't had young talents in decade now. Sachin Pilot is 42. That's not young by any parameter. Scindia Jr. is 49! Suffice to say, Congress is not letting go of any 'young' talent. Third, Gandhis never grant easy access. The book 'Durbar' by Tavleen Singh tell us how Gandhi's governed their fiefdom through exclusivity of access to them. Whether it's a politician or a businessman or a journalist, you doing things for them will grant you access and that in turn means, you do more things for them. Amazing!  But it worked for last two decades now. It should be a psychology case study.

Lastly, the talk about how Pilot won the elections for Congress in 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections is unicorns running on rainbows level hallucination. Yes, he did work at grass root level. But For last twenty years Rajasthan have voted alternatively for BJP or Congress. And the voters did this by giving each party an overwhelming majority. The result was like a clock work. Given BJP had won rather massively in 2013, potential for Congress winning in 2018 was quite high regardless. And that's precisely what happened. Congress did not get absolute majority, so, one can argue that the advantage Congress got was because of Sachin Pilot's work. And perhaps, that's true but let's not get carried away here by saying Sachin Pilot revived Congress.

All this brings me to the point that has been bothering me since unfolding of this drama. Pilot isn't waging any holy war against dynasty rule in Congress. He himself is a classic case of a dynasty. His father was a political heavyweight in Congress before losing out to Sonia Gandhi. He doesn't have much presence beyond Rajasthan, as in, he has no national stature. He enjoyed the fruits of sucking up to Gandhis all along. Now that he is unable to cage his ambition of becoming CM of the state, he is revolting. That's the simple reality. Nothing wrong in what he is doing. This is politics after all. But it's jarring to see him getting painted heroic.

I don't know which Pilot will go. He is unlikely to find much warmth in BJP. Scindia's case was different because rest of his family, except for him and his late father, has been backbone of Jan Sangh and BJP. Pilot's not the same case. I say BJP shouldn't take him onboard. RJ will come their way in three years anyway. Why take on a person who may harbor hatred towards Hindutva and towards BJP? Let him set up a regional shop. He will eat into Congress share to begin with.

Congress party is already pretty thin when it comes to state leadership. But rest assured whichever way Pilot decides to chart his way, this kind of drama will repeat in Congress again and again till only three of Gandhis remain in the party. 

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