It is time Congress found the key to unlocking itself

Sonia Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and other leaders during the 'satyagraha' in New Delhi. Pic/PTI

An alliance always means trouble. Who better than the Congress to understand this. Mostly in a commanding position whenever in government, the Congress in Maharashtra finds itself in a precarious state these days. It may be the weakest of the three MVA partners in Assembly strength, but despite being vastly experienced in matters of governance and coalition politics, it hasn't been able to compete with the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party. Why? The answers may lie within the Congress set-up in the government and in its organisation.

After much bickering and sulking, the Congress ministers in Maharashtra say they have managed to make the CM understand their party's ideas about making the MVA people-friendly. The emphasis here is on the ideas that the All India Congress Committee (read: Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi) has conceived and want implemented by the government, with the party's participation. The Congress argues that this scheme augurs well for the poor in the time of COVID-19. But in Maharashtra, neither the Sena nor NCP showed much interest in the Congress proposal because the bigger partners have their own ideas and agendas. Thackeray comes with a scheme of his own, but before finalising any move he ensures that he gets a word of advice from NCP boss Sharad Pawar. Senior Congress leaders in the cabinet feel alienated, ignored and insulted when they find the CM relying heavily on Pawar and the bureaucrats. The Congress has accumulated a series of grievances in the past four months. The party expected its woes to end after meeting the CM, which political observers are calling wishful thinking.

Why have things escalated so much? As said earlier, the Congress should introspect and share the blame. The MVA came into existence, primarily because the Congress agreed to be part of it with its 44 MLAs despite opposition from Rahul Gandhi who said recently that his party wasn't a key decision maker in Maharashtra.

Keeping BJP out
The MVA set out to achieve a single goal of keeping the BJP out of power, which ultimately it did. The three have been sharing power ever since but the Congress ministers, barring a couple of them, did not really explore the power of being the most important pillar of the coalition, especially when the people needed the Congress most in the pandemic. Some senior Congress ministers heading the departments that could have really helped the party reach out to the people, either lacked initiative or they didn't feel like doing it even while CM Uddhav Thackeray and Health Minister Rajesh Tope took it upon themselves to fight the pandemic. Their presence was felt greatly. They received both bouquets and brickbats. Sharad Pawar also pitched in when needed. Ajit Pawar worked long hours in Mantralaya. Sena's Transport Minister Anil Parab played perfect partner to his boss. Aaditya Thackeray supported his father fully. And, as all these leaders were up to something meaningful, as the call of duty or out of political compulsion, they wondered why their Congress colleagues sulked instead of taking up their appointed public-related jobs at such a time. "Whenever asked about the missing Congress ministers, we would say they were working in their constituencies," said a NCP minister.

Known for its hard-hitting editorials, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna launched an unexpected attack on the Congress, calling it an old creaking cot.

Saamna attack on Cong
The article was published a day before the CM met Congress emissaries Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan who made "the CM understand the Congress's ideas". A caustic Saamna editorial had already dampened the Congress leaders' spirit, giving them a further sense that convincing Thackeray would be harder than anticipated. Maybe the Sena has got a sense that the Congress, whatever tantrums it threw and would be up to in the future, cannot leave the MVA, and even if it did, the grand old national party would alone be blamed for breaking an anti-BJP movement that the 'unnatural' MVA formation pioneered seven months ago.

Is the state Congress united in its effort of demanding 'justice' for the ministers and the party? It doesn't seem so because the party's state leadership has differences that show up time and again. It was because of the feud that the high command had to depute two senior leaders for an audience with the CM. Isn't it typical of the Congress party's checks and balances strategy?

Lack of strong leadership
A sense of scepticism runs in the party in the absence of a unified command that the Sena and NCP boast of (at least for now because Sharad Pawar has proved who is boss). The Congress MLAs, who aren't part of the council of ministers, see the ministers as a selfish lot who come together only when their personal interests are endangered. The legislators are worried about their future. Their fear stems from the fact that both the Sena and NCP are using their tenure in the government to heal and prosper. Where will the Congress stand in any eventuality, say like a mid-term poll? It is unfortunate that the presence of Congress ministers, whose departments are supposed to contribute significantly to pandemic challenges, aren't still felt by their control of the departments or ideation, not even while we are in the process of unlocking.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com

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